House steno goes bonkers during US shutdown vote

The vote that ended the US government shutdown took a rather bizarre turn on Wednesday, when a House of Representatives stenographer was dragged off shouting and screaming from the floor.

Lawmakers described the woman, Dianne Reidy, as a long-time House stenographer who apparently lost her mind. She went up to the Speaker's chair while the vote was in progress and said, "Praise be to God Jesus Christ." She also appeared to make references to America not being one nation under God because ''Freemasons'' wrote the Constitution. She also seemed to say something about a ''house divided''.

A woman tried to calm Reidy as others summoned police.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the presiding officer, banged the gavel to restore order several times, but this did not deter Reidy, who screamed "You cannot serve two masters" as she was removed from the floor.

According to Ros-Lehtinen, Reidy "came up to the podium area beneath where I was standing and asked me if the microphones were on. I said that I didn't know. I assumed that perhaps I was chatting too much to the parliamentarians around me. Then she suddenly faced the front and said words like 'Thus spoke the Lord.' And, 'This is not the Lord's work.'

"I hammered to get control and hush her up. She said something about the devil. It was sudden, confusing and heartbreaking. She is normally a gentle soul."

Reidy was questioned by US Capitol Police after her removal from the floor and was later taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. It was not immediately clear whether criminal charges would be filed.

The disruption stunned members of Congress already jumpy after two weeks of partisan invective over the partial government shutdown and Thursday's debt ceiling deadline.

Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro said she had a crazed look on her face.

(Also see: US Congress passes bill to end debt crisis; shutdown ends )