Congress finally gets first chance for answers about the Jan. 6 insurrection

Lawmakers will get their first chance Tuesday to expose the security failures that allowed rioters to overtake the Capitol on Jan. 6 and threaten the presidential transition of power.

At a rare joint oversight hearing, senators are set to hear from security officials who were on duty when a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters ransacked the building and sent them fleeing for their lives. The story of Jan. 6 has become clearer as hundreds of rioters have faced charges, but high-level decision-making by top congressional security officials has so far remained a black box.

That lack of transparency from the upper echelons of the Capitol Police leadership in particular has sparked pushback from the police force’s union. It's also clouded congressional efforts to increase security and ensure the Hill learns from the insurrection chaos. Senators expect Tuesday's hearing to be only the first step in their efforts to investigate the run-up and response to the siege.

“When you ask questions and you get an answer, it usually leads to even more questions,” Senate Homeland Security Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said, adding that he personally has “a long list of questions” for the former officials and intends to hold a series of hearings on the subject.

Forty-eight days after attackers stormed the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying now-President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, central details about the Jan. 6 attack have remained shrouded in mystery. The lack of any public accounting from the agencies and officials overseeing the security response has become a sore spot among lawmakers targeted by the insurrectionists.

One major question: Why did political considerations appear to have delayed approval to provide National Guard backup to an overwhelmed police force, more than 100 of whom were injured during the siege?