July 27, 2021

CHAIRMAN JEFFRIES: “THE JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE WILL UNDERTAKE A SERIOUS, SOLEMN, SOBER AND SUBSTANTIVE INVESTIGATION”

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held a leadership press conference where he underscored the importance of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol and highlighted House Democrats’ commitment to Build Back Better for everyday Americans. 

CHAIRMAN JEFFRIES: I am flying solo today because our Vice Chair Pete Aguilar of course is a Member of the January 6 Select Committee on the Insurrection and will be participating throughout the day on this incredibly important hearing. We had an abbreviated Caucus meeting today out of respect for the hearing that has just begun on January 6, that fateful day in America that will forever live in infamy. 

The January 6 insurrection was a violent assault that was incited by the former disgraced, twice-impeached president of the United States of America. It was an attack on the Capitol, the Congress, the Constitution and the country. The January 6 insurrection was not a normal tourist day. It was not a peaceful protest. It was not a love fest. It was a Trump-inspired riot designed to take down the United States government. 

So, the January 6 Select Committee will undertake a serious, solemn, sober and substantive investigation to present the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as it relates to what happened on January 6, why it happened and most importantly, how do we prevent a violent insurrection and attack on the Capitol from ever happening again. 

It's personal for Members because Members were the targets as part of this insurrection. We're going to undertake this in a serious way, in a bipartisan way and I commend Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Congressman Adam Kinzinger for being patriots and putting Constitution over partisan political interests. 

We also heard today from the Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Peter DeFazio, providing us with an update from his vantage point as to where things stand. We of course, with Peter DeFazio's leadership, have advanced an incredibly important piece of legislation designed to help modernize our transportation and infrastructure here in this country. Do it in a green and a resilient and a sustainable way.

We look forward to seeing what comes out of the United States Senate with respect to the bipartisan infrastructure agreement that is still being negotiated. We're committed to moving an infrastructure package in a bipartisan way, and we're also committed to doing what is necessary to Build Back Better, to make life better for everyday Americans who have been struggling through the pandemic and were struggling prior to the pandemic, which is why President Biden has correctly indicated that we're not going to go back to normal, that we are going to Build Back Better. We're going to make sure that we lift up the middle class in America and all who aspire to be part of it so that we can keep the promise of America, which is the opportunity for every single person in every single zip code to be able to succeed.  

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Video of the full press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.