Biden, Democratic lawmakers will commemorate Jan. 6 siege at the Capitol. Few Republicans will attend.
President Biden will travel to the Capitol on Thursday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege aimed at denying him the presidency. The day's events will begin with Biden and Democratic lawmakers gathering at Statuary Hall, one of several areas where supporters of former President Donald Trump swarmed last Jan. 6 to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.
"A series of remembrance events during the day will be widely attended by Democrats, in person and virtually, but almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will be absent," The Associated Press reports. Many Republicans will be in Atlanta on Thursday for the funeral of former Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), while others will simply avoid the Capitol and the commemoration of an event few GOP lawmakers are eager to talk about.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will preside over a minute of silence in the House chamber, a moderated discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham, and first-hand accounts of the insurrection from House members there that day. Pelosi told AP on Wednesday that she will focus on the fact "democracy won that night."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested Biden will single out Trump for blame. "I would expect that President Biden will lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw," she said Wednesday. "He will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president — in an attempt to mislead the American people, and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role in what happened."
In a new AP-NORC poll, 57 percent of Americans said Trump bears significant responsibility for the Jan. 6 siege, up from 50 percent in the days after the attack. The same poll found that while about two-thirds of Americans described the Jan. 6 siege as very or extremely violent, Republicans are less convinced — 3 in 10 said it wasn't violent and another 3 in 10 said it was only somewhat violent.
Trump scheduled a Jan. 6 news conference, then canceled it due to concerns about bad — or insufficient — press coverage. Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said it's "unsurprising" Biden would spend Jan. 6 "trying to further divide our nation" and distract from his own political problems.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 22, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - frozen assets, blazing fires, and more
By The Week US Published
-
How much of a blow is ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question Action by Hague court damages Israel's narrative that Gaza conflict is a war between 'good and evil'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
UK gynaecological care crisis: why thousands of women are left in pain
The Explainer Waiting times have tripled over the past decade thanks to lack of prioritisation or funding for women's health
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
ATACMS, the long-range American missiles being fired by Ukraine
The Explainer President Joe Biden has authorized their use for the first time in the war
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published