Page:Introductory Material to the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/100

 members of the Commission equal, and to provide both parties with an equal say in subpoenas, as McCarthy had requested.

In May 2021, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson began to negotiate more of the details for the Commission with his Republican counterpart, Ranking Member John Katko. On May 14, Chairman Thompson announced that he and Ranking Member Katko had reached an agreement on legislation to “form a bipartisan, independent Commission to investigate the January 6th domestic terrorism attack on the United States Capitol and recommend changes to further protect the Capitol, the citadel of our democracy.”

On May 18, the day before the House’s consideration of the Thompson-Katko agreement, Leader McCarthy released a statement in opposition to the legislation. Speaker Pelosi responded to that statement, saying: “Leader McCarthy won’t take yes for an answer.” The Speaker referred to Leader McCarthy’s February 22 letter where “he made three requests to be addressed in Democrats’ discussion draft.” She noted that “every single one was granted by Democrats, yet he still says no.”

In the days that followed, Republican Ranking Member Katko defended the bipartisan nature of the bill to create the Commission: "As I have called for since the days just after the attack, an independent, 9/11-style review is critical for removing the politics around January 6 and focusing solely on the facts and circumstances of the security breach at the Capitol, as well as other instances of violence relevant to such a review. Make no mistake about it, Mr. Thompson and I know this is about facts. It’s not partisan politics. We would have never gotten to this point if it was about partisan politics."

That evening, the House passed the legislation to establish a National Commission to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol Complex in a bipartisan fashion, with 35 Republicans joining 217 Democrats voting in favor and 175 Republicans voting against. In the days thereafter, however, only six Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats in supporting the legislation, killing the bill in the Senate.

On June 24, Speaker Pelosi announced her intent to create a House select committee to investigate the attack. On June 25, Leader McCarthy met with DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was seriously injured on January 6th. Officer Fanone pressed Leader McCarthy “for a commitment not to put obstructionists and the wrong people in that position.”

On June 30, the House voted on H. Res. 503 to establish the 13-member Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol by a vote of 222 Yeas and 190 Nays with just two Republicans supporting the measure: Representative Liz Cheney and Representative Adam Kinzinger. On July 1, Speaker Pelosi named eight initial members to the Select Committee, including one Republican: Representative Cheney.

On July 17th, Leader McCarthy proposed his selection of five members:

Rep. Jim Jordan, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee;

Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota; House Energy and Commerce Committee;