US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi has condemned Republican lawmakers’ efforts to downplay the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, calling it “sick” and “quite appalling.”
This comes after Congressman Andrew Clyde of Georgia, a Republican, intimated;that the insurrectionists behaved like they were on a typical Capitol tour. firstly
During a press conference, Pelosi posited;that the comment “was beyond denial. It fell into the range of sick,”
“And that’s what we have to deal with when we are saying it’s urgent for us to secure the Capitol. ‘Why? It was just a normal tourist day.’ We have to strengthen our police force. ‘Why? It was just a normal tourist day,’ and we have to establish a commission for January 6. ‘Why? It was just a normal tourist day.'”
Clyde’s comment came during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on 12th May. The hearing was about the Trump administration’s preparations for and response to the January 6 attack.
Speaking about the footage of the assault, the Georgia Republican said viewers may have thought it was a “normal tourist visit” being shown if they didn’t know it was from January 6.
“There was no insurrection, and to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bald-faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walk-through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures.”
Pelosi said the remarks made during the hearing by Clyde and other Republicans were “quite appalling.”
“Really? Really? Well, I don’t know on a normal day around here when people are threatening to hang the Vice President of the United States or shoot the speaker in the forehead or disrupt and injure so many police officers. I don’t consider that normal.”
Democrats and Republicans can reach consensus
Pelosi also posited that Clyde’s comments demonstrate the challenges Democrats have encountered when attempting to work with Republicans on a $2 billion supplemental funding bill “to harden the Capitol complex and the parameters of a commission studying the January 6 insurrection”.
However, the speaker said that she is “optimistic” Republicans and Democrats can reach a consensus. She pointed out that Democrats have conceded on the panel’s subpoena power and membership but are unwilling to budge on the scope of the investigation.
The Republicans, according to reports, want to broaden the scope to focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, Antifa and protests against racial injustice last summer.
“We cannot concede on the scope. And that was sort of the last stumbling block.
“There are those who want to put this, that and the other thing on there. And we think it just has to be focused on its purpose, which is January 6.”
If neither side can reach agreement on a January 6 commission, the speaker said the House can always pursue a congressional investigation where Democrats, as the majority, will have full subpoena power. She added that it is her hope “that we don’t have to go that route.”
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