The House will launch a new investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection Wednesday. A special committee is expected to approve the investigation.
The panel would be headed by Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would appoint a chairperson as well as at least eight members. Pelosi has a possibility to have a say in the selection of five other members. The resolution is up for vote and directs that they be named “after consultation” by Kevin McCarthy, House Republican leader.
The panel is expected to be opposed by most Republicans. Late Tuesday night, House Republicans received a memo from No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise asked his members to vote no on the resolution. He stated that the committee was likely to pursue a “partisan agenda” when investigating the siege of former President Donald Trump’s supporters. Republicans want to end the insurrection and Trump’s role, but Scalise and McCarthy declined to comment on whether Republicans would even take part.
Pelosi formed the committee after Senate Republicans stopped the creation of an independent, bipartisan panel. This panel would have been equally divided between the parties and modelled after the 9/11 commission.
Although the speaker stated that she preferred an independent panel to lead the inquiry, Congress couldn’t wait to take a closer look at the insurrection.
Pelosi wrote Wednesday morning to his colleagues, “It is evident that January 6th wasn’t just an attack against a building but also an attack upon our very Democracy.” It is essential that we find out the truth about what happened.
The GOP’s role in the probe and the selections to the panel could determine whether the committee is a bipartisan effort, or one that leads to further division. The bipartisan reports of two Senate committees included security recommendations. However, it didn’t examine the source of the siege and left many questions unanswered about the day.
McCarthy faces pressure from both the police officers who responded, as well as Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans to seriously investigate the incident. According to Pelosi’s office, officers who responded to the attack, including Metropolitan Police Officers Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges, and Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, were expected to vote in the House Gallery.
