Speaker Pelosi Creates Select Committee To Investigate January 6 Insurrection

 

As expected, the Speaker has decided to do what Senate Republicans blocked:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will create a House select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. [snip]

The creation of a single Democratic-controlled special committee, which will consolidate several House investigations, comes after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission.

• While Republicans would have had equal control over the blocked 9/11-style investigative commission, it's unlikely they will have the same leverage over the House select committee investigation. [snip]

Pelosi said the committee will "investigate and report on the facts and the causes of the attack and it will report recommendations for the prevention of any future attack.” The structure and members of the committee will be announced at a later date, she added.

To the extent they can, Republican leadership will try to sabotage the workings of the Committee, but the Speaker has leeway in determining how the Committee will be structured, how subpoenas will be issued, etc.  Republicans are likely to rue not proceeding with a bipartisan commission, which would have allowed them much greater power to shape the membership and operation of the investigation.