Republicans Launch New Jan. 6 Committee

Republicans have long argued that Democratic-led efforts to investigate the failures around Jan. 6 and the GOP campaign to subvert the results of the 2020 election were an unfair attack on Donald Trump. In anticipation of potential retaliation from Trump or his allies, President Joe Biden issued pardons in the final hours of his presidency for lawmakers on the House panel that led the probe.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched broad efforts to undo work by the Biden administration in the wake of the Capitol attack. Trump quickly issued broad pardons for those involved, and his Justice Department dismissed prosecutors involved in the investigations.

Loudermilk emphasized that the investigative panel has been a priority for Trump, and the two began speaking about it before he was inaugurated in his second term. Although negotiations with GOP leadership have been in the works since last October, talks around the panel picked up again in earnest last month, Loudermilk said. He told reporters that at a meeting with Trump in June, the president pressed Loudermilk about the reason for the delay and said he had expected the panel to be established earlier this year.

Raskin also sat on the previous Jan. 6 committee panel.