A divided House votes to create a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.


A sharply divided House voted on Wednesday to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, overcoming opposition from Republicans determined to stop a high-profile accounting of the deadly pro-Trump riot.

But even as the legislation passed the House, top Republicans locked arms in an effort to doom it in the Senate and shield former President Donald J. Trump and their party from fresh scrutiny of their roles in the events of that day.

The final vote in the House, 252 to 175, with four-fifths of Republicans opposed, pointed to the difficult path ahead.

The vote came hours after Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, declared his opposition to the plan. Mr. McConnell had said just a day earlier that he was open to voting for it, and had previously been vocal both in denouncing Mr. Trump’s role in instigating the assault and in decrying the effort by some Republicans on Jan. 6 to block certification of the election results.

His reversal reflected broader efforts by the party to put the assault on the Capitol behind them in political terms, or recast the rioting as a peaceful protest, amid pressure from Mr. Trump and concerns about the issue dogging them in the 2022 elections.

Proponents, including 35 Republicans, hailed the move to establish the commission as an ethical and practical necessity to fully understand the most violent attack on Congress in two centuries and the election lies from Mr. Trump that fueled it. Modeled after the body that studied the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, the 10-person commission would take an inquiry out of the halls of Congress and deliver findings by Dec. 31.

Comments

Post a Comment