Lawmakers Agree to Deal to Investigate Capitol Attack

House could vote on proposed bipartisan commission next week
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2021 11:19 AM CDT
Lawmakers Agree to Deal to Investigate Capitol Attack
In this Sept. 17, 2020, file photo, Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill.   (John McDonnell/The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File)

House lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, and it does not include a look at violence alleged to have come from left-wing groups last summer, as some Republicans had hoped. The proposed 10-person commission would focus only on the attack and "the influencing factors that may have provoked [it]," the Homeland Security panel said Friday, per NBC News. The deal was negotiated by committee chair Bennie Thompson and ranking Republican John Katko. Legislation establishing the commission, to be introduced Friday, could come before the House as soon as next week. But in what the Washington Post calls a "potential obstacle," House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy objected to the proposed narrow scope immediately after the deal was announced.

"You've got to look at the build-up before and what has gone on afterwards, otherwise the commission does not work," McCarthy told NBC. If the measure passes the House, it would then have to pass the Senate, where Republicans have similar concerns about the inquiry's scope. Under the newly announced deal, Republicans and Democrats would each appoint five people, none of whom can be government employees, to the panel. Subpoenas could be issued with agreement between the chair and vice chair or by a majority vote, per Axios. A final report, including recommendations to "prevent future attacks on our democratic institutions," would be due by the end of the year. (More Capitol riot stories.)

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