The United States (US) House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill calling for a probe into the events of January 6, which saw a deadly riot on the US Capitol by former President Donald Trump’s supporters. The legislation is aimed at establishing an independent, 10-person bipartisan commission that would make recommendations by the end of the year on ways to prevent another such attack. Despite vehement opposition from top GOP officials—including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell—the proposal passed in the chamber with a 252-175 vote.
The vote comes amid an increasing (and visible) divide within the GOP over its allegiance to the former president. Just last week, House Republicans removed GOP Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership post in the chamber for her persistent disavowal of former President Donald Trump’s false election rhetoric. And as was routine during the previous administration, Wednesday’s ballot was seen as a loyalty test to Trump, and 35 Republicans chose to go the other way. The 10 GOP legislators who had voted to impeach Trump just days after the January 6 riots, were among those who supported the creation of a commission to investigate the incident.
While Democrats have argued that a probe is crucial to unpack the events of that fateful day, Republicans have pushed back against their efforts, with Trump leading the charge. On Tuesday, the embattled former president released a statement, calling the Democrat’s plan a “trap” that was rooted in partisan unfairness. Referring to the Black Liver Matter protests last year, he argued that “unless the murders, riots, and fire bombings in Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, Chicago, and New York are also going to be studied, this discussion should be ended immediately,” and urged GOP leaders to be “much tougher and much smarter, and stop being used by the Radical Left.”
Meanwhile, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the Dems’ plan a ruse “to smear Trump supporters.” Mitch McConnel also has labelled the bill a “slanted and unbalanced proposal” stressing that while there would be “no shortage of robust investigations” into the matter, existing congressional inquiries were sufficient.
The draft text now faces its biggest challenge as it goes before the Senate. The 50-50 upper house of parliament will need 60 votes to approve the plan. Though Republicans have vowed to kill the proposal in the Senate, Democrats have expressed their full willingness to press on ahead with the investigation, with or without GOP support. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if Republicans block the probe in the Senate, she was open to launching a select congressional committee “with full subpoena power.” “We are going to pursue this one way or the other,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, adding, “Any attempt to obfuscate, to hide and dissemble will not succeed.”
US House Approves Capitol Riot Probe Despite GOP Resistance
35 Republicans voted in favour of creating an independent commission to investigate the events of January 6.
May 20, 2021
SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS