WASHINGTON (WAND) - The U.S. House has established a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack.
According to NBC News, the only Republicans to vote in favor included U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. This House vote was the only needed step to create the panel.
Kinzinger, who represents Illinois, released the following statement:
“We need a full accounting of what happened on January 6, 2021—we need answers on who was involved in the insurrection and who played a role in orchestrating it. We need transparency and truth.
“As I have said, I believe a bipartisan independent commission is the best approach—and although the House was able to pass the measure, it was blocked by the Senate. Today, I voted in support of the Select Committee (H.Res.503) because the truth matters. Because it is our duty to conduct a thorough investigation of this most egregious attack on the Capitol. Because the American people—and especially the families of our brave law enforcement on the front lines that day—deserve answers.
“With the number of conspiracy theories being perpetuated by media outlets and spreading wildly online, we have to push back with the facts and ensure what happened on January 6th never happens again. We have to put the partisan political divisions aside and put the interests of our country and our democracy at the forefront. And as I said before, we cannot let fear stop us from doing what is right.”
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced the panel as "complementary, not instead of" a bipartisan commission the House had approved and Senate Republicans blocked in May. The bipartisan panel push failed to net the required 60 Senate votes, and it has been challenging for Democrats to convince Republicans to support it.
The committee will involve 13 members, all of whom will be House members. Pelosi will choose five in consultation with Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. She will also have the power to choose its chair.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has pushed Republicans to vote against the panel, calling it "likely to pursue a partisan agenda to politicize the January 6th attack instead of conducting a good faith investigative effort into the actions leading up to and the security failures of the 6th" in an email to lawmakers.
Republicans could be considered to be added, such as Kinzinger and Cheney.
