US House approves select committee to investigate January 6 Capitol attack
- ‘That day, January 6, was one of the darkest days in American history,’ said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
- Only two Republicans joined all Democrats in the 222-190 vote to create the House select committee
The US House of Representatives has narrowly passed a Democratic bill on Wednesday creating a 13-member committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, with Republicans dismissing the inquiry as an exercise in partisan politics.
“That day, January 6, was one of the darkest days in American history,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. The mob sought “to block the certification of an election and the peaceful transfer of power that is the cornerstone of our democracy.”
Only two Republicans joined all Democrats in the 222-190 vote to create the House select committee, which does not require assent of the Senate or the signature of the president to begin its investigation.
In May, 35 House Republicans voted in favour of an independent bipartisan commission to investigate the causes of the insurrection by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters as Congress was certifying the electoral count from the presidential election. But Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell led a successful Republican effort to block the commission legislation.
Among the Republicans who backed the select committee was Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who voted in January to impeach Trump for his role in stoking the mob and in favour of creating the independent commission.
