NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim is donating the blue suit he wore on the day of the Capitol riots to the Smithsonian Institute American History Museum.
Kim picked up the bright blue suit off a J.Crew sales rack around the holidays to wear to President Joe Biden's inauguration, but instead to decided to wear it on Jan. 6.
"I woke with the news of the wins in Georgia. I decided to wear the blue suit. I bought it to be a suit of celebration, and I thought what better way to give the suit meaning than to wear it when I confirm the electoral college and then later to the inauguration," he explained in a tweet.
That suit later gained fame after Kim was photographed picking up trash off the Capitol Rotunda floor after insurrectionists stormed the building.
The now-viral photo, which Kim didn't even know was being taken of him, has been used as an example of doing the right thing.
"Like the suit, my actions on Jan. 6 were very ordinary. I was just trying to clean up a building that I love," Kim said.
He hopes that the suit can teach his children and other young ones an important lesson.
"I hope it shows them the kind of character I hope that they grow up into. That when the going gets tough, when you're in a tough spot you don't throw up your hands, you roll up your sleeves and try to do what you can," Kim said.
The Democrat said Jan. 6 is a day he still struggles to explain to his kids.
"I don't know how to explain to them what happened so I hope the Smithsonian and others are able to help, not just for me but other parents, other teachers, to try to explain that," Kim said. "We need to have more humility in our lives, we need to recognize that we all are a part of something bigger than all of us."
The congressman said it was instinctual to get down on what he called "sacred ground" and clean the Rotunda after the riots.
"To see this room that I love defaced and defiled in the way that it was, you know, the worst condition that Rotunda of the Capitol probably was in for well over 100 years if not more. I couldn't face it," Kim said. "I felt a real need to do something to kind of right the wrongs as quickly as we could and try to negate the negativity that we all experienced that day."
He tells WCBS 880's Kristie Keleshian that if he had more time to think about it, he would've tried to track down some gloves first.
He wore the suit again days later on Jan. 13 when he walked onto the House floor to cast his vote for impeaching former President Donald Trump.
"The suit still had dust on the knees from Jan 6," Kim tweeted. "I wore it so I would have no doubt about the truth of what happened."
After that he vowed to never wear it again and even considered throwing it out, but that all changed when he started receiving letters from strangers who said they saw the suit as a symbol of resilience and hope.
After being contacted by the Smithsonian about the suit for an exhibit about that day, he agreed to donate it in the hopes that it helps "tell a story of light on one of the darkest days in our democracy."