How Congress marked five years since Jan. 6
Plus: A California Republican’s sudden and tragic death, Judiciary senators get their Maduro briefings, and the Supreme Court announces a much-anticipated opinion day.
First Things First
The Capitol was blanketed with a deep solemnity on the fifth anniversary of the failed attempt to block the certification of a presidential election. House Democrats marked the day with a special hearing in the Capitol basement, dressed up with studio lights and staging despite lacking formal approval.
It featured a video montage of the violence that occurred that afternoon when President DONALD TRUMP encouraged supporters, whom he ginned up for months with baseless claims of election fraud, to march to the Capitol as the counting of the electoral votes was underway. Another played clips from the first day of Trump’s second term, when he pardoned roughly 1,500 people convicted for their roles in the attack and commuting the sentences of a small group of others.
Three panels of former law enforcement officers, state officials, members of Congress and Americans who were in the Capitol on the day of the attack offered harrowing personal accounts of their experiences—and the stain they say remains as Trump’s MAGA movement continues to downplay and misrepresent the violence that occurred during those fraught hours.
“The Jan. 6 violent attack on the Capitol that took place five years ago today was shameful then, it is shameful now, and it will be shameful always and forever,” House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.) said.
The top House Democrat said the country still has lessons to learn from that day and that safeguarding democracy means defending free and fair elections, the peaceful transfer of power, and the rule of law.
Beyond the somber mood of the event, members also expressed a palpable resentfulness towards Trump when they spoke about his pardons. Some pardoned offenders have since been charged or arrested on new crimes, including violent and unrelated offenses. One was arrested and charged in October with threatening to kill Jeffries at a New York City event.
I’m told members were steered to highlight the consequences of the pardons in their remarks and in witness questioning. One source acknowledged that the approach could read as a coordinated narrative, but stressed it emerged organically rather than through formal direction.
The star witness of the hearing was PAMELA HEMPHILL, a Jan. 6 rioter who publicly rejected President Trump’s pardon and accepted responsibility for her actions.
A 72-year-old retired addiction counselor, cancer survivor, and grandmother, Hemphill told lawmakers she pleaded guilty because she committed the crime and received due process, insisting the Justice Department was not weaponized against her, as Trump and his supporters have claimed.
She described falling into what she called the MAGA cult, traveling from Idaho after believing Trump’s lies and the fear-driven rhetoric she heard around her, and going from Trump’s speech to the Capitol under the mistaken belief he would join the crowd. When he never showed and the violence erupted, she said the reality of what she had done became clear.
“The police officers were the heroes. They protected the Capitol and everyone inside the Capitol—and even people like me,” she said. “I was trampled on by the rioters, and if it weren’t for the Capitol Police helping me that day, I might have died.”
Hemphill apologized directly to former Capitol Police officer WINSTON PINGEON for her role in the attack, then appeared visibly overwhelmed as members embraced her afterward, praising her courage and contrition.
“I can’t believe people are still disrespecting you and trying to lie about Jan. 6,” she told Pingeon, who spoke on the panel before her. “I will do everything I can to stop the lies about our brave officers like you who protected us during the attack.”
NANCY PELOSI said during her testimony that one of her proudest moments as House Speaker was leading members back to the floor that night to certify the election despite being urged to delay the task for days out of security concerns.
She had plenty of smoke for the president, whom she accused of insulting Americans by continuing to claim the 2020 election was stolen.
“The president is always saying to me, ‘You weren’t ready.’ Yeah, I wasn’t ready for a President of the United States to incite an insurrection against the Congress of the United States, against the Constitution, against the Capitol of the United States,” she said. “Who would be ready for that? But we are ready to save our democracy. The times have found us to do that.”
During a pause in the hearing, I asked Reps. ROBIN KELLY (D-Ill.) and TERRI SEWELL (D-Ala.) to reflect on the day. Both did so with visible emotion, underscoring how raw it remains.
Kelly recalled being trapped in the gallery, saying members were locked in and crawling on their hands and knees as they waited to escape, only able to get out after police shot ASHLI BABBITT and the mob retreated.
“I’d never forget: Three knocks on the door,” she said. “Nobody wanted to answer, but that’s how we escaped.”
Sewell said she hadn’t publicly spoken about the day since it happened and described the shock of watching violence overtake what she called her workplace—the People’s House—a space that was supposed to be safe, not a scene of terror.
“It was incredulous to me and the fact that we were on our knees, like crawling from one end of the gallery to the other,” she added. “It’s surreal.”
Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) this evening on the Senate steps saluted the bravery of the law enforcement officers who protected members from the rioters before leading Hill Democrats in a moment of silence. The lawmakers then sang “God Bless America.”
Sen. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.) led nearly 20 Senate Democrats in floor speeches to honor the injured law enforcement officers, including those who later lost their lives. As you’re reading this, senators are still speaking.
Padilla and Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.) also introduced two bills that would block federal payouts to the Jan. 6 rioters, as many who were pardoned or granted clemency by Trump are now seeking compensation from the federal government for prosecution.
While Democrats held their hearing this morning, House Republicans were two-and-a-half miles west of the Capitol at the Kennedy Center for a day-long policy retreat. President Trump addressed members for nearly an hour and a half on a range of topics, including Venezuela, the practically nonexistent GOP majority, health care and his prediction that Democrats would try to impeach him for the third time if they won the majority in November.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. The Capitol Police protected everybody,” Kelly told me of the split screen between the Democrats’ hearing and the Republicans’ off-site meeting. “They were running for their lives too. I think they forgot.”
CN TRIVIA QUESTION: January 6, 2021, marked the first time since what year that the U.S. Capitol was violently breached during a constitutional proceeding?
In the Know
— Rep. DOUG LAMALFA (R-Calif.) died this morning at the age of 65 after experiencing a medical emergency at his home followed by a heart attack and an aneurysm during emergency surgery. LaMalfa leaves behind a legacy of fierce advocacy for California water rights, especially for Central Valley farmers. His death lowers the Republican majority to 218–213 and leaves Speaker Johnson with a two-vote margin on party-line bills with full attendance. LaMalfa’s northern California district is one of five currently held by Republicans that were redrawn to offset the gerrymander by Texas Republicans this summer.
— Rep. JIM BAIRD (R-Ind.) is in stable condition and good spirits after his vehicle was struck while Baird was driving back to D.C. with his wife to resume House work. His office said there are no changes in his duties despite the accident, which comes as House Republican margins are razor-thin and member availability critical.
— Senate Judiciary Committee Chair CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) held a classified call with Attorney General PAM BONDI this morning on the arrest of former Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO and his wife last weekend. The two leaders slammed the Trump administration’s decision to exclude their committee from the briefing it provided to congressional and national security leaders since the president and Secretary of State maintained the arrest was a law enforcement operation requested by the Justice Department, FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency—three agencies under Judiciary’s jurisdiction.
— The Supreme Court announced Friday as an opinion day, raising the possibility of a decision on President Trump’s tariff authority. The case has immediate implications for his authority to unilaterally impose and expand tariffs under existing statues.
Read All About It
“Trump’s assault on the environment has been even worse than experts predicted” by Thor Benson: “The administration’s hostility toward clean energy is setting back America’s ability to fight climate change, and to compete economically.”
“The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape” by Evan Halper: “As the buildout of AI infrastructure alarms communities, it is fast emerging as a potent electoral issue across the political divide.”
“How to turn casual friends into close friends” by Hannah Seo: “Better friendships can just start with an emoji.”
Last But Not Least
Here’s what I’m watching tomorrow (all times Eastern):
— The Senate is in at 10 AM and will vote at 2 PM to begin debate on a disapproval resolution that would overturn the EPA’s approval of South Dakota’s regional haze plan.
— House Republican leadership will hold its weekly post-meeting press conference at 10 AM. House Democrats will follow at 10:45 AM.
— The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing at 10 AM on fraud and misuse of federal funds in Minnesota.
— The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust will hold a hearing at 10 AM on competition and consumer choice in digital streaming.
— The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions will hold a hearing at 10:15 AM on modernizing retirement policy for today’s workforce.
— Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Ill.), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and other Democratic veteran members will hold a press conference at 1:15 PM on military operations in Venezuela.
— The House Judiciary Committee on Federal Courts will hold a hearing at 2:30 PM on holding rouge judges accountable.
— Members of the California congressional delegation will hold a press conference at 2:30 PM to honor the lives lost during the firestorms that ravaged the southern part of the state and demand immediate federal disaster aid.
CN TRIVIA ANSWER: 1814, during the War of 1812.