The House voted 222-190 Wednesday to approve the creation of a select committee of 13 lawmakers to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.<\/b>
\nJune 30 (UPI) — The House on Wednesday voted to approve the creation of a select committee to investigate the Jan.6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers voted 222-190 to approve the commission proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last week that will look further into the siege that sought to interrupt Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden ‘s 2020 presidential election win over former President Donald Trump. \u00ab\u00a0We have a duty to the Constitution and to the American people to find the truth of Jan.5 and to ensure that such an assault on our Democracy can never happen again,\u00a0\u00bb Pelosi said. \u00ab\u00a0And rather than being frivolous with the facts, we are going to be prayerful and patriotic to honor the concerns of the American people by seeking and finding the truth to protect our country.\u00a0\u00bb The commission will consolidate several current investigations into Jan.6 by other House committees, including those by the Homeland Security Committee and the House Oversight Committee. Thirteen House lawmakers will serve on the committee, Pelosi will select eight members, while House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will select five. Members of the committee will have the power to issue subpoenas to aid the investigation. Republicans in March voted to block the creation of a bipartisan commission and 35 Republicans initially voted for an independent bipartisan commission to be created with subpoena power. Only two House Republicans, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted to approve the select committee on Wednesday. \u00ab\u00a0Since January 6th, the courage of my party’s leaders has faded. But the threat to our Republic has not. On an almost daily basis, Donald Trump repeats the same statements that provoked violence before,\u00a0\u00bb Cheney said. \u00ab\u00a0His attacks on our Constitution are accelerating. Our responsibility is to confront these threats, not appease and deflect.\u00a0\u00bb Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., voted in favor of the independent commission, but panned the select panel as \u00ab\u00a0partisan\u00a0\u00bb in a statement and said she would not serve on it if asked. \u00ab\u00a0Speaker Pelosi’s proposal to create a partisan committee of politicians to investigate the events of January 6th will not be viewed as credible by at least half of Americans, nor will it honestly look at her own failures in securing the U.S. Capitol on that day,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n