On Friday, 35 GOP Senators blocked a bill that was passed in the Democratic-led House that sought to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of Capitol riot.
"While McConnell and his GOP allies in the Senate may be able to stop the House bill from becoming law, that need not prevent a special commission investigation of the worst attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812 and the worst act of insurrection in the United States since the Civil War. Biden can and should create a blue-ribbon commission to investigate the attack," Cole wrote in the article published Friday.
Using executive power, a U.S. president can formulate a presidential commission for research and investigative purposes. Presidential commissions have been created in the past to investigate the Pearl Harbor attack, as well as the 1963 assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. A growing number of Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to form a presidential commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. capitol. Here, Biden speaks at the Queen Theater on January 6, 2021, in Wilmington, Delaware to condemn the riot.Though Biden has not specifically outlined a plan to form a presidential commission, the White House said Friday that he"remains committed" to pushing for an independent investigation of the January riot.
"The president has been clear that the shameful events of Jan. 6 need to be independently and fully investigated," principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One,reported."He remains committed to that and we will continue to work with Congress to find a path forward to ensure that happens."
An alternative path that Democrats could take to investigate the January 6 attack would be to create a select committee in the House. Democratic House Speaker