A handful of Republicans who contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021, violent insurrection on the Capitol are using their power to bring the House of Reps to a standstill.
The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 released mountains of evidence that painted a detailed picture of their GOP colleagues — just as they’re taking the House majority.
The hardline conservatives now holding the House speakership hostage remained in the Jan. 6 committee’s sights throughout its investigation.
During its last days of existence, the Capitol riot panel unleashed a massive trove of evidence with an unmistakable conclusion: At every stage of former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election results, a horde of hardline conservative GOP lawmakers was egging him on.
The committee’s latest material, including 250 witness transcripts, often portrayed those House Republicans as drivers, enablers, and even architects of Trump’s Jan. 6 scheme.
Looking at the conservatives currently standing against Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker, there are several familiar faces.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), were among the handful of true believers in Trump’s attempts to illegitimately cling to power despite dosing the election.
But these Republicans weren’t the only congressional Republicans who took consequential actions during the insurrection two years ago.
Others took a more nuanced tack, countenancing Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud while working to substantiate them and also pushing back against the most extreme efforts of his inner circle and closest allies.
A few republicans testified against Trump. These slim few are being honored for their actions with the Presidential Medal.
Twelve people will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Joe Biden at the White House at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the insurrection.
It will be the first time that the president has presented the honor, which is reserved for those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.
Among them is Rusty Bowers, the former top Republican in Arizona’s house of representatives who stood up to Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and was punished for it by being unseated by his own party.
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