House Republicans approve new panel to ‘uncover all the facts’ of January 6 attack

House Republicans have voted to establish a new subcommittee to reinvestigate the January 6 attack, a move that comes as Donald Trump has tried to rewrite the history of the most violent incident in US Capitol history.

Language to set up the Republican-led subcommittee was folded into a larger rule that passed along party lines. The new subcommittee follows Republican claims that the previous Democratic-led committee was biased against Trump.

The vote comes seven months after House speaker Mike Johnson first announced the new subcommittee in January, saying that it will “uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people”.

On his first day in office, Trump issued 1,500 “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons to people who were involved in the attack, including those who were convicted of violent acts.

The new Republican-led subcommittee will be chaired by Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who will have full subpoena authority. When Loudermilk formally introduced the resolution to establish the subcommittee in July, Johnson said: “House Republicans remain intent on delivering the answers that House Democrats skipped over.”

Speaking on Capitol Hill, Loudermilk said: “I’m grateful for speaker Johnson and my Republican colleagues for entrusting me to continue this important investigation into the events surrounding January 6, 2021.”

He added: “While my previous investigation did an incredible job last Congress, there is still much work to be done. Our goal is to answer the remaining questions, uncover all the facts, and implement reforms so this level of security failure never happens again. It’s time to finish the job.”

The new subcommittee will have eight members appointed by Johnson, and not more than three members appointed “in consultation” with the Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.

According to the resolution, the subcommittee is “authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete investigation and study and issue a final report of the events surrounding January 6 2021”. The formation of a new subcommittee has largely been decried by Democrats as a Republican-led attempt to exonerate Trump over his involvement on January 6 and rewrite the narrative of that day’s deadly attack.

The final report of the new subcommittee is expected to be submitted by 31 December 2026.

In 2022, the initial January 6 subcommittee released an 845-page report on the attack, concluding that based on false allegations that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen, Trump summoned tens of thousands of supporters to the capital on January 6.

The report also found that Trump refused repeated requests over several hours that he instruct his violent supporters to disperse and leave Capitol Hill.