Credit: Tyler Merbler
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent, was among the lawmakers who voted to create a commission to look at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Fitzpatrick, a three-term Republican from Middletown Township, was among a group of 35 Republicans who voted to support the 10-member commission that would be bipartisan and independent. The final vote was 252-175.
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The commission would look at security and issue recommendations for securing the U.S. Capitol and preventing future attacks.
The U.S. Senate still needs to vote on the commission.
The January 6 attack started with a riot, some of which federal authorities said was planned by extremists supporting then-President Donald Trump, and led to 140 police officers being hurt, one attacker being shot dead by a police officer, government property stolen from lawmakers, and millions of dollars in damage to the historic building that is a symbol of democracy around the world. Federal authorities have noted prohibited weapons were brought to the campus, lawmakers had to be rushed to secure areas, and attackers were calling for the murder of Vice President Mike Pence after he accepted the results of 2020 election.
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Fitzpatrick condemned the attack and Trump’s role in stoking tensions leading up to the afternoon. He voted against impeachment.
Fox News Channel reported Fitzpatrick was key in his role as co-chairperson of the bipartisan Problem Solver Caucus in getting the Republicans to cast their vote for the commission.
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The congressman told the cable news network that the commission is set up to be bipartisan.
“Nothing can get done without bipartisan cooperation from witnesses to interviews to subpoenas,” Fitzpatrick said. “So as long as that’s the situation, that anything that happens has to be bipartisan and the focus is on security and the security breaches, which is what it is, that’s where our caucus decided to endorse it.”
In a statement posted on his blog, Trump said after the vote that the commission was more “unfairness.”
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