On Wednesday, the House approved an independent commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol insurrection in a 222-190 vote with just two Republicans voting in favor.
The Democrats initially proposed an independent commission that would be modeled after the one that probed into the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) and John Katko (R-New York) drafted the bill for the commission, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy convinced most House Republicans to oppose it. Only about three dozen Republicans supported the commission in a floor vote. Senate Republicans ended up blocking the bill with a filibuster.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) claimed the commission would have a partisan agenda. “I don’t know if the public is going to have confidence when the rules of the game are skewed the way they are,” he explained.
Last week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that she would unilaterally establish a commission under her control choosing seven members on her own and the other five, she would choose after “consultation with the minority leader.”
On Thursday, Pelosi announced Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), who has strongly criticized former President Donald Trump and voted for his impeachment, as one of her picks for the panel.
Democrats fear McCarthy might select some far-right members, like Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado).
