House Democrats marked the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach Tuesday with a hearing focused on democratic norms and political violence, while Republicans announced a new, GOP-led investigation that will begin hearings next week and shift attention toward unresolved security failures.
House Democrats convened a forum Tuesday to reflect on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the day the U.S. Capitol was breached, framing the riot as a defining threat to democratic institutions and the peaceful transfer of power, Reuters reported.
Democrats used the hearing to revisit the violence at the Capitol and its connection to efforts to disrupt Congress as it certified the 2020 presidential election.
Republican lawmakers did not participate in the event, underscoring the sharp partisan divide over how Jan. 6 should be remembered and investigated.
As Democrats held their forum, Republicans moved to advance a parallel investigative effort centered on security and intelligence failures.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chair of a new GOP-led Jan. 6 select subcommittee, said his panel will hold its first hearing next week.
Loudermilk said the panel is still finalizing its witness list but expects the initial hearing to focus on the pipe bombs discovered near the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters the day before the Capitol breach, an episode Republicans argue remains insufficiently explained.
"It's gonna be sometime next week," Loudermilk said. "We're gonna be really looking at the pipe bomb and the FBI's previous investigation. Why did it take five years?"
Republicans say the new inquiry is intended to examine law-enforcement and intelligence failures before and during Jan. 6, rather than focusing primarily on President Donald Trump's conduct.
That approach contrasts with the prior Democrat-led Jan. 6 select committee, which emphasized Trump's actions and public statements surrounding the certification of the election.
The competing narratives were evident elsewhere on the anniversary.
The White House published a website disputing prevailing accounts of Jan. 6 and placing responsibility for security decisions on then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while rejecting claims that Trump incited the violence.
Democrats criticized the White House website as misleading, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saying Republicans were trying to "rewrite the history of a violent attack on the Capitol."
Republicans defended the site as a corrective, with Loudermilk telling Politico that the new GOP-led inquiry will focus on security failures and unanswered questions that previous investigations "left out," including the unresolved pipe bomb case.
Lawmakers also clashed over a congressionally mandated plaque intended to honor Capitol Police officers and others who protected the building during the attack.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said installing the plaque is untenable, Politico reported.
Loudermilk said he has not discussed the issue with Johnson and has not closely followed the dispute, but indicated that he is not opposed to displaying the memorial.
"I don't have a problem putting it up. I think you need to honor the police," he said. "I mean, the rank and file police, they were just trying to do their job."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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