Pelosi renews call for congressional commission to investigate Capitol riot

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) renewed her calls for a commission to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot in a letter sent out to colleagues on Friday, 100 days after the unprecedented attack.

“Today is the 100th day since the January 6th insurrection and assault on the Capitol and our Democracy,” Pelosi wrote in her letter. “On this 100th day, we are determined to seek the truth of January 6th. To do so, we must have a January 6th Commission. To that end, we have once again sent a proposal for such a Commission to the Republicans, modeled after the 9/11 Commission.”

Pelosi had indicated last week that she would be open to dropping a “9/11-style” commission and instead opt for a select committee of Congress to investigate the Jan. 6 attack. Pelosi first proposed such a commission in February that would “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”

Pelosi stated that she would soon be proceeding with a “security supplemental” based on the recommendations presented by Gen. Russel Honoré that address “the physical structure and personnel needs” of the Capitol.

“Compromise has been necessary; now, we must agree on the scope, composition and resources necessary to seek and find the truth,” Pelosi continued in her letter. “It is my hope that we can reach agreement very soon. At the same time, Committees in the House and Senate have been holding and planning hearings, which will be a resource to the Commission.”

Republican lawmakers have pushed back on the proposed commission due to lower amount of seats that would be allocated to them — three for Republicans and seven for Democrats. Some Democratic lawmakers have in turn said they do not wish to work alongside Republicans on the proposed commission at all, accusing their colleagues of playing a role in the riot.

“We do not owe delusional deniers a role or a platform in a commission designed to try to ferret out extremism and violence to prevent its recurrence,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) told The Hill in February.

Pelosi also made note of the two Capitol police officers who have had laid in honor in the Capitol since the attack, Officers Brian Sicknick and Billy Evans.

“We have voted to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal to the Capitol Police and other law enforcement which protected the U.S. Capitol. Let us always be thankful and prayerful to those who kept us safe,” Pelosi said.