Watch CBS News

Eventful Opening Day Of RNC For Pennsylvania Delegation

CLEVELAND, OH (CBS) -- The first day of the Republican National Convention was a busy one for the Pennsylvania delegation, starting with a breakfast presentation from Speaker of the House Paul Ryan -- to an attempted protest in the usually-mundane afternoon session -- to an evening program named "Make America Safe Again."

That evening session focused heavily on the Benghazi consulate attack, armed forces, veterans' services, and illegal immigration.

Pennsylvania delegate and Bucks County Commissioner Rob Loughery says safety wasn't tops on his mind until recently.

"Given what's happened just in the last ten days, maybe I need to be a little bit more vigilant," he admitted.

The attempt at forcing a roll-call vote by anti-Donald Trump groups fell short and was shouted down by Trump supporters. General Counsel of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, and member of the rules committee, Lawrence Tabas, downplayed the shouting, calling it little more than sour grapes.

"They never raised this issue under [Mitt] Romney or [John] McCain or George W. Bush," Tabas said. "It was really just disgruntled people whose candidates were defeated. As one of them honestly said to me, 'we want a do-over.'"

Day two of the convention will be just as busy for Pennsylvania, a sign of the importance of the state come November. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst will speak at the breakfast.

Sessions is senior member of the Armed Services Committee. Ernst is the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the United States Senate.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.