Congress

How Jan. 6 was remembered — and rewritten — on its 5th anniversary

Published

6 months ago

January 7, 2026

Five years ago, Ryan Samsel ignited the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol grounds when he charged through a police barricade, injuring a police officer in the process.

Samsel returned to the site Tuesday, part of a group of fellow mob members who retraced the route Trump supporters took from the Ellipse to the foot of the Capitol in 2021. They marched to celebrate their blanket pardon by President Donald Trump and attempt to reclaim Jan. 6 as a date of triumph, not tragedy.

The march was the backdrop to a day marked by partisan sparring over a missing plaque and an endorsement by the White House of a torrent of conspiracy theories and lies about the attack and Trump’s pressure campaign to subvert the 2020 election.

A new White House website, with ominous black-and-white images of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the Jan. 6 select committee, offered an alternate and largely false narrative of events at the Capitol that day — one that forcefully denied Trump’s role in stoking the riot and labeled those who stormed the Capitol “patriotic Americans.”

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson eschewed calls to mount a bronze marker legally mandated by Congress that would serve to honor those who protected the Capitol from the worst attack it had seen since the war of 1812.

“He’s trying to cover up for the fact that Republicans continue to disrespect those brave men and women of the Capitol Police department who defended our country on Jan. 6,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a brief interview.

Democrats held a mock hearing to mark the anniversary of the event featuring firsthand witnesses to the violence that day. Their testimony underscored the increasingly diverging narratives that continue to define the historic attack.

Outside the Capitol, the former Jan. 6 defendants rallied without support from sitting lawmakers. Their most vocal champion, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had resigned from Congress a day earlier. She was mentioned regretfully by some members of the crowd who soured on her after she began openly feuding with Trump last year.

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York exchanged tense words with Jake Lang — who was pardoned of numerous assault charges against police on Jan. 6 — from behind a line of officers as he walked past the participants as they prepared to lay flowers on the Capitol steps.

Members of the march chanted, “Whose house? Our house!” — an echo of the rally cries from five years earlier. Mikki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt — the woman who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer outside the House chamber — described Jan. 6 as the day Congress “let the American people down.”

Inside the Capitol, the missing plaque became a stand-in for the swirling controversy about how the infamous day will be remembered.

Johnson said in a Monday statement that the plaque, which was authorized by a law passed in March 2022, was “not implementable” and that Democratic-led proposals for it were also not an option.

That echoes arguments made by the Justice Department, which is trying to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by two Capitol Police officers seeking to compel the plaque’s mounting.

The law authorizing the marker requires it to list the names of all law enforcement officers who participated in the defense of the Capitol. DOJ lawyers argue in court filings that the plaque that has been made does not comply with the law because it lists the departments who responded — not the individual officers. A deputy to the Architect of the Capitol said in a separate court declaration that a plaque listing the officers’ names has not been made.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) called Johnson’s claim that the plaque does not comply with the law “ridiculous, and so is he.” Many Hill Democrats have placed replicas of the plaque outside their offices as Johnson refuses to mount the genuine article.

In one effort to resolve the issue, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Tuesday he would seek to change the law to accommodate the existing plaque, but it was not immediately clear if he would be able to garner the unanimous support necessary to quickly act.

Testifying at the Democratic shadow hearing, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger — who served as a Republican on the House’s previous Jan. 6 panel — said he was “convinced” the plaque would be put on display by next January, when the next Congress begins.

“I’ll humbly suggest maybe you can double the size of it by then,” he said.

The Democrats’ event was held in the basement after the speaker’s office declined to allow them to use a dedicated hearing room or the larger auditorium in the Capitol Visitor Center, according to a person granted anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the claim.

No sitting House Republicans attended. They spent their day across town holding a policy retreat at the Kennedy Center, where Trump addressed them and brought up the events of Jan. 6 without prompting. He complained that the media failed to report how he told people to march “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol that day and renewed old gripes against Pelosi, whom he blamed for rejecting National Guard troops to guard the Capitol — even though only Trump could call up the Guard.

The new White House website also accuses Pelosi and members of the Jan. 6 select committee of maneuvering to unfairly blame Trump for the riot. Not mentioned are any of the many comments critical of Trump from inside the GOP at the time nor the 10 House and seven Senate Republicans who voted against him in subsequent impeachment proceedings.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune sidestepped a question Tuesday about the website’s claim that Capitol Police helped instigate the riot. He told reporters he hadn’t seen the site and offered general praise for the force.

The history of Jan. 6 will remain a live issue on Capitol Hill for the remainder of the current Congress, with a new Republican-led panel investigating the attack and the work of the prior Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee.

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who serves on the new panel, attacked those on the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee for seeking to malign Trump.

“Their Select Committee wasn’t about transparency or the truth; it was political theatre,” he said in a statement. “My colleagues and I are focused on uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they lead.”

Congress

Johnson says he will send housing bill to Trump on Monday

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Speaker Mike Johsnon said he plans to send President Donald Trump a bipartisan housing bill Monday, just days after the president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation after Congress failed to pass his elections security act.

Speaking with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson said the 21st Century ROAD To Housing Act is a Republican priority for lowering costs for Americans.

“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” the Louisiana Republican told host Maria Bartiromo. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s remarks.

The bill is the product of almost a year of back-and-forth between all four congressional corners and aims to increase affordability by boosting housing supply and home ownership. It passed both chambers of Congress with wide bipartisan support.

Trump was scheduled to sign the bill into law last week but canceled the ceremony “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”

Trump’s SAVE America Act would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end mail-in voting. Trump has also said he would like the bill to include prohibitions on transgender athletes competing. But Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated the legislation does not have enough votes to pass.

Congressional leaders appeared taken aback by Trump’s signing cancellation, but Johnson on Sunday said he and the president have since met in the Oval Office to discuss the housing bill “in great detail.”

“We made a lot of promises to the voters, and we’re fulfilling those every single day of this Congress,” Johnson said. “This is a big part of that because this will increase the availability, the access to more housing, bring down cost, cut regulations, do the things we know are very important for that market. The president and I talked about that at length. Of course he wants to do those things.”

But if Trump does not sign the housing bill into law within the next few days, it would still become law unless he were to veto it. Congress also has the power to override a presidential veto.

Congress

Sen. Thom Tillis rails against Trump’s fixation on voting legislation

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday expressed frustration with President Donald Trump’s continued fixation on passing the SAVE America Act.

In an interview with BLN’s “Face the Nation,” the retiring North Carolina Republican lamented “the impossible task” of implementing the requirements of the legislation ahead of November’s crucial midterms.

“Why are we doing more things to undermine our confidence in elections, rather than getting the strong message out that will win for Republicans this year?” Tillis said.

Rather than promoting the bill — which would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end widespread mail-in voting — Tillis said Republicans should tell voters about “the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America” while accepting the current voting laws.

“Win by the good results that Republicans have produced and stop undermining the confidence in the elections,” said Tillis. “This is a bedrock of our 250-year history of success as the democracy that changed the world. Let’s not mess with that between now and November.”

Trump has said the SAVE America Act is his “No. 1 priority” ahead of midterms, going so far as to abruptly cancel a bill signing for major bipartisan legislation on housing affordability until Congress passes his elections bill. But many Democrats are staunchly against the bill, arguing it could disenfranchise millions of voters, and Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly indicated it does not have the votes to pass.

Tillis co-sponsored the original SAVE America Act but has objected to Trump’s version of the legislation, which would also bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.

It’s not the first time Tillis has clashed with Trump.

Earlier this year, Tillis blocked Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department dropped an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has also spoken out against the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” calling it a “payout for punks.” And he has emerged as a fierce critic of Bill Pulte, Trump’s interim director of national intelligence.

“Let’s try and figure out a way to completely and finally end these distractions so that we can focus on the damage Democrats could do if they take the House, if they beat incumbent Republicans in the Senate. That’s what Republicans need to be talking about between now and November,” Tillis said Sunday.

Congress

Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump: ‘Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage’

Published

9 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bill Cassidy appeared to question President Donald Trump’s view of Congress, saying in an interview that he is not sure Trump grasps that Congress “is a separate body, separate from the presidency.”

“Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage, and, frankly, sometimes Congress acts like it’s an appendage,” the Louisiana Republican said in a pre-taped interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.

The latest criticism in a public clash between the two leaders, Cassidy also told host Margaret Brennan that he would be focused on affordability, including the cost of health care and groceries, if he were president.

“If I were president, I would be focused on those people that they have, my people, our people, us at the kitchen table. How do you make their life better? And that’s what I think the president should be focused on,” Cassidy said.

The relationship between Cassidy and Trump has been rocky for some time. Cassidy was one of only a handful of Republican leaders who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Trump and Cassidy recently clashed in a closed-door meeting between GOP leaders, with Cassidy admitting he raised his voice to “match” the president’s.

“The president said something negative about me. I received it as attempting to bully me from asking a question that I think the American people need to know, and I’m not going to be bullied,” Cassidy said at the time.

However, after receiving a special briefing from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Cassidy changed his vote on a resolution designed to rein in Trump’s power to wage war against Iran.

“They said right now the negotiations are delicate, and they could collapse if they’re not nursed along in the appropriate way. I can accept that,” Cassidy said.

“That’s the reason they said for their kind of lack of being forthcoming. I can accept that, but my goal was to be briefed, to have the truth in order to make a decision for the benefit of my country, and that was satisfied.”

Still, Cassidy’s stance against Trump has cost him: After serving more than a decade in the Senate, Cassidy lost his campaign for renomination after Trump endorsed against him. Rep. Julia Letlow will be the Louisiana Republican Senate candidate this fall.