Only two House Republicans vote for the January 6 select committee
By Kristin Wilson and Clare Foran, CNN
Only two House Republicans — Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — voted Wednesday to create a select committee to investigate the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Both GOP lawmakers, who are frequent critics of former President Donald Trump, were among the 35 House Republicans who voted to establish an independent commission, which was blocked by Senate Republicans.
Many Republicans have criticized the select committee, accusing Democrats of creating a partisan panel that will be used to attack former President Donald Trump. House GOP Whip Steve Scalise recommended House Republicans oppose the select committee on Tuesday, although GOP leaders did not formally whip the vote.
Cheney and Kinzinger have each faced backlash for their high-profile criticism of Trump.
In a dramatic move, House Republicans ousted Cheney from her leadership post as conference chair in May after she repeatedly called out Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen.
Cheney sharply criticized Republican leaders and explained her decision to vote in support of a select committee in a statement on Wednesday.
“Since January 6th, the courage of my party’s leaders has faded. But the threat to our Republic has not. On an almost daily basis, Donald Trump repeats the same statements that provoked violence before. His attacks on our Constitution are accelerating. Our responsibility is to confront these threats, not appease and deflect,” she said.
Cheney went on to say, “Our nation, and the families of the brave law enforcement officers who were injured defending us or died following the attack, deserve answers. I believe this select committee is our only remaining option. I will vote to support it.”
Kinzinger has also been a prominent critic of Trump’s ongoing election lies and has launched a political action committee as part of an effort he’s calling “Country First,” which seeks to counter the GOP’s embrace of conspiracy theories and the former President.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kinzinger said, “We need a full accounting of what happened on January 6, 2021—we need answers on who was involved in the insurrection and who played a role in orchestrating it. We need transparency and truth.”
“I believe a bipartisan independent commission is the best approach—and although the House was able to pass the measure, it was blocked by the Senate. Today, I voted in support of the Select Committee (H.Res.503) because the truth matters,” he said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Alex Rogers, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.
