The US House of Representatives approves the formation of a commission of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol Building

More than four months after the deadliest storming of the US Congress in two centuries, the issue continues to sour the mood in the United States. Especially in political circles. The images are still fresh in the minds of many lawmakers and senators – who feared for their lives on January 6 this year when supporters of President Donald Trump incited the invasion of the Capitol Building -.

Therefore, many MPs support an independent, in-depth investigation into the day’s events. How can angry civilians reach the Capitol? Did the security services misjudge the risks? To what extent did Trump’s behavior – his refusal to acknowledge his electoral defeat and his arguments about electoral fraud – contribute to the uprising? What lessons can be learned to avoid repetition?

On the initiative of the Democrats, members of the House of Representatives discussed, on Wednesday evening, the formation of a ten-member investigation committee. It will hear from stakeholders and experts in the coming months and make recommendations by 31 December.

After a live debate, the initiative was approved: 252 delegates voted in favor of establishing the committee, while 175 were against it. A striking result: 35 Republican members of Parliament ignored the orders of the party leadership and supported the proposal.

Liz Cheney was one of those defectors. She has not escaped her criticism of Trump in recent months. Not only did she refuse to address his rhetoric about election fraud, she also repeatedly denounced his role in the storming of the Capitol and voted to impeach Trump earlier this year. Because of this position, Cheney’s party members stripped her of her first position in the House of Representatives last week.

But other Republicans, like John Katko of New York, have also given the green light to the commission of inquiry. Make no mistake. “It’s a matter of facts, not partisan politics,” said the lawyer who negotiated with Democrats over the proposal to establish the independent body. “The American people and the police on Capitol Hill deserve answers and action so that this does not happen again.”

The vote was a new test of Republican loyalty to Trump. Although the billionaire has rarely appeared in public since the end of his term, he still has a firm grip on the party. By embracing it, the old grand party hopes to dominate the House and Senate in midterm elections at the end of 2022.

Therefore, the party leadership is doing its best to drown out the investigation committee into the storming of the Capitol building in the Senate. Both Democrats and Republicans hold 50 seats. Only when the Democrats join the ten Republicans can the commission take off.

This does not promise to be an easy job. The leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, had expressed his opposition to the plan shortly before the vote in the House of Representatives. The day before, he was leaning toward the yes vote.

According to observers, that turning point came under pressure from the party leadership. They want to turn the storming of the Capitol into a mysterious memory as quickly as possible. For political reasons. They fear that this commission of inquiry will continue to remind voters for a long time about the tumultuous 2020 election race, the deadly storming of the Capitol and hurting their chances of success in 2022.

Our message for the midterms should be around issues that matter to the American people: jobs, wages, the economy, national security, safe streets, and strong borders. It’s not about the 2020 election, in the words of Senator John Thune, McConnell’s right-hand man.