Pelosi Pushes for a January 6th Commission as Testimony Starts

By Manuel Wallick

With the effects of the January 6th Capitol insurrection still being felt within Congress and the nation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has called for a commission to investigate the failures that led to the event. The Speaker has proposed a 9/11 style Commission to get to the bottom of the causes of the insurrection. While the commission has wide support among Democrats, Republicans in the House and Senate are more opposed, and the proposal has not yet been able to pass.

One of the most prominent sticking points is how the commission would be made up. Speaker Pelosi is calling for it to be made up of a majority of Democrats. Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), have pushed back on this idea. McConnell agreed that the attack deserves an investigation and review but attacked the formation of the commission and compared it to the bipartisan makeup of the commission following 9/11. While the post-9/11 commission was bipartisan, McConnell says this one is designed to be partisan. Jordan agreed with McConnell’s comments while also defending former President Donald Trump, who he said had done nothing wrong.

Despite this current opposition, designs for the commission are ongoing and may still reflect the 9/11 commission’s design. Another question that is under consideration is what the focus and limits of the panel would be. While the scope is still to be determined, the goal would be to get the answers that are desired about the event. Until these questions are unanswered, the proposal is deadlocked and could be given to an outside entity to conduct.

While the commission has not been formed as of yet, there has been testimony over the event. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Maj. Gen. William Walker, commander of the D.C. National Guard, both testified before Congress. In his testimony, Wray highlighted the role of far-right extremism in the Capitol insurrection and addressed several conspiracy theories that have emerged since the event. Meanwhile, in his testimony, Walker stated that the Department of Defense had delayed on sending the National Guard to the Capitol. This delay lasted hours and was contrasted with the swift action during the Black Lives Matter protests last year. According to the general, guardsmen were ready and able to be deployed to the Capitol within 20 minutes of the go-ahead but were not allowed to for hours. While the Pentagon denies this and contests the general’s testimony, this alleged delay is now a focus of the investigation.

Manuel Wallick is a sophomore from Lexington, South Carolina, majoring in political science.

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