(ConservativeHub.com) – Abraham Lincoln gave a speech on June 16, 1858, that included the following statement: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” It was a reference to a parable from Jesus recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It appears that rule may apply to the current state of affairs in the US House of Representatives.
Politico reported on March 18 that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (CA) push for a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol Hill riot has become mired in “quicksand.”
Pelosi had been pushing for the appointment of a commission for roughly 10 weeks, but negotiations with House Republicans appear to have stalled with no agreement.
Pelosi had hoped a bipartisan commission would investigate the riot’s origins and the security failures that allowed it to happen. Instead, Democrats and Republicans argued over the probe’s scope and the balance of Republicans to Democrats serving on the commission.
Onward to Plan B?
Undeterred, Pelosi has turned her attention to an alternate course of action. Currently, she’s considering the prospect of using three existing House committees (those overseeing Appropriations, Administration, and Homeland Security) to conduct their own investigations into the events surrounding January 6. As one might expect, Democrats head up all three.
Pelosi said she wasn’t ready to abandon the effort to appoint a 9/11-style commission, telling MSNBC she has started circulating a draft proposal she thinks could serve as a baseline for negotiating with Republican House members.
Currently, Pelosi and Republicans appear unwilling to agree on the intended direction of the probe. Pelosi wants to limit the commission’s scope of inquiry to the Capitol Hill siege. Republicans want to take a broader approach and look into additional incidents of social and political unrest that have plagued the nation for months prior.
We will keep you updated as events unfold.
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