House Speaker Nancy Pelosi clashed with House Republicans over her proposal to establish a Democratic-controlled commission to investigate the Capitol riots. In an effort to restart discussions on the commission’s assembling, Pelosi has agreed to an even partisan split among commission members.
People familiar with the matter revealed to CNN that Pelosi proposed an independent panel made up of an equal number of members from both political parties in the 9/11-type commission. Pelosi reportedly briefed her leadership team on her proposal Monday, as she seeks to make a breakthrough with House Republicans on the panel that would be investigating the events of January 6. The House Speaker hinted at the changes in a letter to her colleagues.
It remains to be seen if House Republicans would welcome the changes. Pelosi previously revealed that the makeup of the commission is one of the concerns the House Republicans had with her proposal. The scope of the commission was also put in question, especially regarding former President Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 riots.
“The challenge that we have is: what is the scope? The scope — what we want is one thing: The truth. ‘What happened on 9/11 and how can we prevent it from happening again?’” said Pelosi at a news conference. “It’s not about reviewing the elections. It’s not about examining Black Lives Matter. It’s about what happened on January 6 and how we can prevent it from happening again. So if we can agree on scope, I think we can agree on a commission. The size, timing, all the rest of that, those are negotiable, and that’s not the main part of it.”
Previously, Pelosi reflected on the riots in an interview with USA Today. The House Speaker said that the pro-Trump rioters were targeting her in a plan to kill her along with other top Democrats and vice president Mike Pence at the time. When pressed what would have happened had she been found, Pelosi joked that she would have fought back, adding that she would have used her stiletto heels as a weapon.
“Well I’m pretty tough. I’m a street fighter. They would’ve had a battle on their hands,” said Pelosi.