House Passes Bill Creating Capitol Riot Commission With Support From Dozens Of Republicans, Rebuking GOP Leadership

The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would create a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with dozens of Republicans joining Democrats in a rebuke of GOP leadership.

The bill passed 252 to 175 with support from 35 Republicans, even though top GOP leaders opposed it and launched a last-ditch effort to convince its members to vote against it. It was authored by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and New York Republican Rep. John Katko, the top lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee, and focuses solely on the Capitol riot instead of adopting a wider scope as some Republicans previously insisted.

“There has been a growing consensus that the January 6th attack is of a complexity and national significance that what we need [is] an independent commission to investigate,” Thompson and Katko said in a joint statement after they reached agreement Friday. “Inaction — or just moving on — is simply not an option. The creation of this commission is our way of taking responsibility for protecting the U.S. Capitol.”