Status: 07/22/2021 8:54 a.m.
The committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 causes another dispute in the US House of Representatives. Chairman Pelosi turned down two Republicans from the panel. These are now threatening a boycott.
A party dispute has broken out in the US House of Representatives over the occupation of the committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol. Democratic chairwoman Nancy Pelosi turned down two of the Republican nominees for the panel. The reason are statements and behavior of parliamentarians Jim Jordan and Jim Banks in the past and concerns about the “integrity of the investigation,” said Pelosi. She had to approve the nomination of the nominees.
The Democrats accuse Banks and Jordan of supporting former US President Donald Trump’s claim that election fraud stole his presidential election victory. The two MPs were also among a number of Republicans who voted against Parliament’s confirmation of the election results on January 6.
After Pelosi’s decision, the Republican minority leader in the Chamber of Congress, Kevin McCarthy, threatened that the Republicans would boycott the committee and accused Pelosi of “abuse of power” that would damage the institution permanently. After a long tussle over the committee in the US House of Representatives, McCarthy had nominated five candidates for the committee on Monday. They are all considered supporters of former Republican President Trump. Most Republicans had declined to investigate the riot. The party argued that the committee, with a majority Democratic member, would conduct a partisan investigation.
Reps Jim Jordan, Jim Banks and Kevin McCarthy at a press conference.
Image: AP
Biden is committed to working with Republicans
Despite the clashes between the two parties, US President Joe Biden continues to believe that Democrats and Republicans can work together on important issues. “The well has been so poisoned in the past four years,” said Biden in Cincinnati, Ohio. “But I think it’s all starting to move. I don’t mean overnight, don’t get me wrong.” The Democratic President answered questions from citizens at a so-called town hall event on the US broadcaster CNN.
Looking at the current argument in the House of Representatives and the storming of the Capitol, Biden said, “I don’t care if you think I’m Satan again. (January) nothing happened. ” You can’t listen to people who say it was a peaceful demonstration, the president said. Biden emphasized the importance of cooperation in general. “Democracy has to stand up and show that it can achieve something.”
Five dead in the Capitol storm
The storming of the Capitol on January 6th had rocked the United States and is considered a black day in the history of US democracy. Radical Trump supporters had attacked the seat of Congress when Biden’s victory in the presidential election on November 3 was to be certified there. Five people were killed in the violence, including a police officer. Trump had previously repeated his unsubstantiated accusation of massive election fraud during a performance in front of supporters in Washington and urged his audience to march to the Capitol and “fight the hell out of it”. The Democrats subsequently initiated impeachment proceedings against Trump, which ultimately failed in the Senate. They then wanted to set up an independent and bipartisan investigative commission to uncover the exact background of the attack.
Pelosi had designated eight of the 13 members of the committee. Seven of them are Democrats and the eighth is Republican MP Liz Cheney. Cheney has sharply criticized Trump. The first hearing of the new committee is scheduled for next week.