White House Says It Will Back Bill to Create January 6 Commission

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:59 pm

The Biden administration announced it will back a measure to create a commission to investigate the events of January 6 following House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy‘s (D-Calif.) own announcement that he would not back it.

In a statement, the White House called the Capitol riot, which kicked off after a group of former President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a failed bid to overturn the results of an election countless observers have affirmed was both free and fair, was “an unprecedented assault on our democracy, an effort to undo the will of the American people and threaten the peaceful transition of power.”

“While the federal government has already begun taking action to improve the safety and security of the U.S. Capitol, the administration supports the proposed bipartisan, independent national commission to study and investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol,” the statement read.

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“The nation deserves such a full and fair accounting to prevent future violence and strengthen the security and resilience of our democratic institutions,” the White House wrote.

Earlier today, McCarthy announced he would also oppose the commission.

“Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation,” McCarthy said, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of not negotiating in good faith.

Pelosi later condemned McCarthy’s actions.

“Democrats made repeated efforts to seek a bipartisan compromise. But Leader McCarthy won’t take yes for an answer. In his February 22 letter, he made three requests to be addressed in Democrats’ discussion draft. Every single one was granted by Democrats, yet he still says no,” she said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA.

She added: “The American people expect and deserve the truth about what happened on January 6th in a manner that strengthens our Democracy and ensures that January 6th never happens again.”

The House of Representatives reached a bipartisan agreement last week to form the commission, which would include a panel of 10 members with half of them appointed by Democratic congressional leaders, including the chair, and half by Republicans, including the vice-chair.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.