Rep. Gerry Connolly says President Joe Biden should push ahead and create his own version of a January 6 commission to investigate a riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“In light of the GOP’s cowardly filibuster of a bipartisan January 6th Commission, I urge President Biden to form and appoint a Presidential Commission to fully investigate the insurrection at the United States Capitol, to identify the individuals and organizations who plotted or were involved in those violent acts, and to make recommendations to prevent such an attack from ever recurring,” Connolly penned in an email.
Democrats in Congress pushed for a commission to investigate what led to the riot, in a forum similar to a commission that probed September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, Arlington, and Pennsylvania.
Senate Republicans blocked the bill with a 54 to 35 vote on May 28, short of the 60 votes needed to approve the formation of the commission.
More than 400 people, including 23 from Virginia, were arrested and charged for their involvement in the incident at the U.S. Capitol. Many of them remain behind bars.
