White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has announced that President Joe Biden will not appoint a commission to investigate the events that took place on Capitol Hill last January. This announcement comes after members of Congress failed to pass a bill that would create a task force to examine why and how hundreds of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Many Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives hoped that Biden would bypass Congress and use his executive power to create a commission, but White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki warns that will not happen.
“As the President has said, the events of January 6th were an unprecedented assault on our democracy — and he believes they deserve a full, and independent, investigation to determine what transpired and ensure it can never happen again,” she said.
“Congress was attacked on that day, and President Biden firmly agrees with Speaker Pelosi that Congress itself has a unique role and ability to carry out that investigation. Because of that, the President doesn’t plan to appoint his own commission.”
Instead of placing responsibility at the President’s door, Psaki said that Biden believes members of Congress can revisit the issue and come out with a different result.
“Members of Congress swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the President believes they can, and must, do that by putting politics aside and supporting a full and transparent investigation into January 6th,” she added.
It is unclear if legislation to create the commission will be reintroduced to the Senate in the near future.
Biden opposes appointing a presidential commission on Jan. 6 attack. Psaki says, in part: “Congress was attacked on that day, and President Biden firmly agrees with Speaker Pelosi that Congress itself has a unique role and ability to carry out that investigation.”
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) June 3, 2021
