Pelosi says House will move forward with January 6 investigations
Washington — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that House committees would continue their investigations into the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, after Senate Republicans blocked a bill last month to create a bipartisan, independent commission to probe the origins of the assault.
"We're disappointed that we could not get the bipartisan commission through the Senate," Pelosi told reporters after a meeting with House committee chairs with jurisdiction over investigations into the attack. She added that "we can't wait any longer" for the Senate to vote again on the commission bill.
"Whether we have a commission today, tomorrow, the next day out of the Senate or not, the work of the committees will be very important in seeking what we are — getting the American people the truth," Pelosi said. She did not say whether she would specifically create a select committee to investigate the attack.
"We've considered several options as we look forward, but there'll be a cascade of activity from the committees," Pelosi said. She indicated that a select committee, if created, would work in tandem with existing investigations by House committees, saying that a select committee "is not to take the place of that."
Supporters of the commission argued that it would be preferable to have an investigation helmed by an independent panel rather than a select committee, which would be made up of members of Congress and could devolve into partisanship. Seven Senate Republicans voted to advance the bill creating a commission, but it still fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed.
Pelosi's remarks came as two House committees held hearings regarding the attack. The House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on delays in the response to the attack by federal law enforcement, featuring testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray, General Charles Flynn and Lieutenant General Walter Piatt, the director of Army staff.
During the hearing, Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney asked Wray whether he felt the FBI held any responsibility for the the attack on the Capitol.
"Our goal is to bat 1.000, and any time there's an attack, much less an attack as horrific and spectacular as what happened on January 6, we consider that to be unacceptable," Wray replied.
Zak Hudak contributed to this report.