House Republicans have been accused of attempting to “rewrite history” as lawmakers voted to establish a new panel to reinvestigate events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
Republicans had complained that the original, Democrat-led probe into the January 6, 2021, insurrection – which saw a mob of Donald Trump supporters swarm the Capitol in an attempt to overturn former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory – was biased against Trump.
Even after Trump’s return to office in January, the president maintains that he “won” the 2020 election, which he claims was “rigged.” Days into his second administration, Trump pardoned almost all of the more than 1,500 rioters who were charged with crimes connected to the Capitol attack, and commuted the sentences of the remaining 14 defendants.
A resolution for the controversial subcommittee was tucked into a rule on the House floor on Wednesday, which passed along party lines 212-208. It will fall under the House Judiciary Comittee and likely be headed by Barry Loudermilk, who helmed a similar subpanel in 2023.
Chairman of the original Jan. 6 committee, Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, rejected claims that the first panel’s work contained errors or its findings lacked transparency. “You can’t rewrite history, even though you might not like what occurred and what people saw with their own eyes,” he told the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, a Democratic House Judiciary Committee ranking member, James Raskin, said the new subcommittee is a chance to remind Americans of House Republicans’ “complicity” and “embarrassing apologetics for” MAGA’s “violent insurrection against Congress and Vice-President Mike Pence” in Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election.
Loudermilk expressed his gratitude to Speaker Mike Johnson, who first announced plans for the panel eight months ago, and vowed to “uncover all the facts.”
“I’m grateful for Speaker Johnson and my Republican colleagues for entrusting me to continue this important investigation into the events surrounding January 6, 2021,” Loudermilk told reporters on Capitol Hill. “While my previous investigation did an incredible job last Congress, there is still much work to be done.
“Our goal is to answer the remaining questions, uncover all the facts, and implement reforms so this level of security failure never happens again. It’s time to finish the job,” he added.
The new subcommittee will have eight members appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson. While a list had not been finalized, according to Politico, Loudermilk pointed to a potential selection: Texas Representative Troy Nehls, a former Sheriff who helped Capitol police stave off rioters on the House floor during the attack.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be able to consult on selecting up to three members.
Loudermilk argued Democrats would not be constrained in their choice of appointees, referring to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, who refused to allow two Trump-aligned conservatives to serve on the original committee.
According to the resolution, the panel will “investigate the remaining questions” and “issue a final report of events surrounding January 6, 2021.”
Loudermilk will be required to produce a final report of the panel’s findings by the end of 2026.
The panel is intended to be a response to the original, Democratic-led Jan. 6 select committee formed in the 117th Congress, which held high-profile public hearings and released in 2022 an 845-page report after 18 months of work.
The original committee created new investigative leads, including inside the West Wing, prompting the Justice Department to launch a probe into the origins of the attack and helped lead to Trump’s indictment on several charges.
The final report concluded that Trump conspired to defraud the U.S. and that the Republican inspired his supporters to commit violence as he attempted to remain in the White House, despite his loss at the ballot box.
