President Donald Trump is not done re-litigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. And neither are his allies on Capitol Hill.
GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk announced this week he will be leading a select subcommittee to once again investigate the incident, re-scrutinizing the work of the previous, Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee that made the case that Trump’s actions fueled violence that day.
And he told CNN it all comes at Trump’s request.
In early June, Loudermilk said, the president summoned him to the White House to understand why Republicans had not stood up a new investigation. It had been six months since the pair had spoken directly about the issue, and negotiations on Capitol Hill had been stalled for months as many in the party sought to move on.
“I got called in by the president,” Loudermilk told CNN. “We sat and talked for a while. And he was asking, ‘what is the stall?’ Because he had expected it to be done early in the year too. We talked about it, he engaged with the speaker’s office.”
Before Trump took office, he told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he wanted House Republicans to prioritize re-litigating the previous investigation into January 6, two sources familiar with the conversations told CNN. Behind the scenes, Johnson wrestled for weeks with how to implement Trump’s request while balancing moderate and vulnerable members of the GOP’s historically narrow majority who wanted the party to look ahead and focus on its agenda.
Some of the delay though was bureaucratic. Republicans could not figure out which committee would helm the investigation since it would no longer be under the House Committee on Administration and lawmakers didn’t have consensus on the direction they would take.
Johnson at one point wanted Republicans to stop investigating the former January 6 committee, including former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, and narrow the GOP panel’s, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations. But Loudermilk wanted a broader mandate and to have his own subpoena power.
After Trump’s direct involvement, Loudermilk ultimately got everything he wanted, even an agreement with other committee chairs that he can look outside his current jurisdiction if needed, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
“He was part of the equation in making it happen,” the source told CNN of Trump.
Loudermilk told CNN, “The White House was clear they wanted us to continue doing what we were doing.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
The announcement that Loudermilk would be getting his own select subcommittee with subpoena power came just as several House Republicans joined Democrats in a high-stakes vote demanding the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. That vote drew considerably more attention – and some critics viewed Loudermilk’s move as harmful distraction.
“Loudermilk’s investigation in the Select Committee is now into its third year and they have found absolutely nothing,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat who chaired the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee. “Continuing it is not only pathetic, it sets our democracy back. Republicans will do literally anything to protect Trump and distract from releasing the Epstein files.”
“It seems House Republicans are so desperate to talk about anything other than their Jeffrey Epstein coverup that they’re breaking out all the tired old hits,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat who served on the committee led by Thompson, said in a statement.
In the last Congress, Loudermilk zeroed in on the former Jan. 6 committee and its work product – an effort that resulted in a report recommending Cheney be prosecuted by the FBI for her role in probing the Capitol attack.
His new committee cannot officially get started until September, when lawmakers return from a five-week recess. Loudermilk will need to quickly build up a staff since much of the original staff working on the project had left given the months of delay.
This time, Loudermilk he will have a willing partner in the White House, which might be willing to turn over DOJ or other files related to Jan. 6.
“We have a friendly administration now who has already committed to work with us, to provide us whatever we’re looking for,” Loudermilk said.
With subpoena power to compel testimony and documents, which he did not have during his original investigation, Loudermilk will be less focused on the security failures at the US Capitol and more on scrutinizing the former January 6 select committee’s work. He said he will also examine law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Trump has long viewed his prosecution in connection with the events of Jan. 6 as unfair, and his adminstration has removed prosecutors from the Justice Department who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is clearly more work to be done,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
“I think we can move a whole lot faster at this point,” Loudermilk added.
As a new select subcommittee, Democrats will have the option to seat up to three of their own members.
