House creates Capitol riot committee pushed by Nancy Pelosi

The House voted to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection (right), as proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) (Pictures: AP)

The House has created a select committee to investigate the January 6 Capitol riot, a move engineered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a month after Senate Republicans blocked an independent bipartisan commission.

In a vote mostly along party lines, the House approved the committee 222-190 on Wednesday afternoon. The only two Republicans who voted with Democrats were Liz Cheney, who has repeatedly slammed ex-President Donald Trump for urging his supporters to fight the election results, and Adam Kinzinger.

Pelosi, who last Thursday announced her intention to create the select committee, said ‘it will find the truth, which clearly the Republicans fear’.

‘It does not appear at this time that we can have a bipartisan commission. Hopefully that could still happen,’ Pelosi said on Wednesday. ‘But in the meantime, we will have a select committee.’

Unlike the bipartisan commission that was approved by the full Congress but voted down by Republican senators last month, the House select committee does not require a Senate vote. Most Republicans are against establishing a commission or special committee over fears it may be used as a political weapon against them in the midterm 2022 elections.

Five people died and about 140 police officers were injured when Trump fans stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.

Pelosi during her speech said ‘the sheer scale of the violence that day is shocking’.

The 13-member select committee will include five lawmakers appointed ‘after consultation with the minority leader’, Republican Kevin McCarthy, who has not said if he will make any recommendations. Republicans said that Pelosi would pick the members despite the consultation detail.

There is speculation that Pelosi may choose Cheney, who was recently ousted from the No. 3 Republican leadership role after calling on the GOP to hold Trump responsible for fomenting the insurrection.

In a statement on Wednesday, Cheney said, ‘I believe this select committee is our only remaining option’.

‘The committee should issue and enforce subpoenas promptly, hire skilled counsel, and do its job thoroughly and expeditiously,’ Cheney stated.

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