Washington GOP Rep. Newhouse: Investigation into Capitol riot needs ‘balanced approach’

Earlier this week, Washington state Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler joined Democrats in voting to approve the formation of an independent commission to look into the events surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Newhouse spoke to KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show to explain what he’s hoping to achieve with the investigation.

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Despite the broad strokes of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, being relatively clear already, Newhouse believes there are still many questions left unanswered, including from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

“The Speaker of the House is a huge authority on what happens as it relates to the security of our nation’s capital,” he noted. “I want to know why, for instance, the National Guard was not called in sooner — why was she holding back?”

Beyond that, he also believes there’s still a lot we don’t know about how prepared Capitol police were, and whether they responded adequately as the events began to unfold.

“Embarrassingly, the Capitol Police were caught really flat-footed,” Rep. Newhouse said. “They didn’t have the staffing, training, the equipment, all of the things. I think there’s a breakdown in leadership there, and we need to find out what went wrong and why, and correct it.”

Both Newhouse and Herrera Beutler have taken flack from fellow Republicans in recent months, having both voted to finalize the 2020 election results, as well as to impeach then-President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Capitol riot.

Despite concerns that the investigation would be used as a weapon against conservatives, Newhouse cited how Republicans had actually supported a similar proposal floated shortly after Jan. 6.

“Let me put that concern to rest,” he said. “This is almost a mirror image of the bill that many Republicans supported in January that we wanted to stand up for this commission.”

“I feel good that this is a balanced approach,” he continued. “It’s an even number of Republicans and Democrats on both sides. There has to be a majority vote amongst the commission in order to approve subpoenas, to approve the staff that’s hired, and it will not be controlled by just one side.”

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It’s that bipartisanship that Newhouse hopes can have the investigation reveal the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, regardless of what party it may harm.

“I think we need to know all the circumstances and all of who did what, regardless of whether it was a Republican or Democrat,” he said. “I think the American people want that and deserve that.”

Next, the commission will have to garner approval in the U.S. Senate, and faces a tough road ahead with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voicing his disapproval earlier this week.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here