Insurrection Investigation, GOP Edition

House Republicans are promising that there will be a "real" January 6th investigation, if they take control of the House, focusing on how everything was Nancy Pelosi's fault or something for not doing a better job of oversight of the Capitol Police.

Even after some of their members took heat for downplaying the violent reality of the Capitol attack, House Republicans are sticking with their take on Jan. 6, 2021 — pivoting away from Donald Trump and toward security failures.

GOP lawmakers, if they flip the chamber in November, are planning to use their new power to search for more answers on security lapses related to the siege by Trump supporters and how the Capitol Police has adjusted in wake of the breach. Republicans also want to look at restructuring the secretive board that governs the protection of the Capitol complex.

While past investigations by the Senate and Capitol Police inspector general have thoroughly explored many of those areas and made a laundry list of recommendations to bolster security, not to mention a forthcoming report from the Democratic-run Jan. 6 select committee, House GOP lawmakers are determined to run their own, Trump-free inquiry.

It’s a contradictory turn for a conference that has struggled for a successful message defending Trump against revelations already uncovered by the select panel, instead largely urging Washington to move on. But after two years of being on the outside looking in —Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled his picks from the panel after Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of them — House Republicans are eager to flip the script.

“I think it’s been very well-documented that there were significant intelligence and communications failures on Jan. 6. It’s not the first time we’ve had those issues,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win, said in an interview. “We have to stop that.”

Though House Republicans have stayed almost completely out of the ongoing Jan. 6 probe, they’ve quietly laid the groundwork for changes to the Capitol’s security apparatus that would take effect much more quickly than the investigations they plan to mount.

For example, they want to get rid of the metal detectors installed around the House floor after Jan. 6 that have fueled GOP ire and resulted in hefty fines for lawmakers who tried to dodge them. They are also eager to reopen the Capitol complex, which still has restrictions in place after shuttering at the start of the pandemic. Armstrong noted while many of his colleagues will look back at Jan. 6, his focus is on how the building operates moving forward on a “general 11 a.m. on a Wednesday.”

But more central to the party’s 2023 plans is a report, slated for release later this year by a group of Republicans led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) — who is eyeing his own jump to leadership — that urges changes to the management and structure of Capitol security.

Banks, who supported pro-Trump election objections, said that the report he’s helming “will make recommendations to the next speaker … on how to provide better leadership and oversight of the Capitol Police.”

 

House Republicans are very eager to roll back all the Capitol security improvements, because after all, it's not like MAGA terrorists would attack the building if Republicans were in charge of the House. They're no longer necessary, you see.

Also, they want to "reform" the Capitol Police and make sure they can never be used against, say, MTG waving a gun around at Democrats on the House floor. And hey, what if Democrats need arresting?

Gotta keep those options open, you see.