US House approves select panel to probe Jan 6 Capitol Hill unrest

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to create a select committee that will investigate the January 6 violence at the Capitol Hill building.

The US House approved the measure with a 222-190 vote. Two Republican lawmakers broke with their party line and joined Democrats in backing the formation of the committee, The Hill reported.

The decision on the select committee comes after legislation to establish an independent bipartisan commission was blocked by Senate Republicans last month.

The panel to investigate the Capitol Hill incident will be made up of 13 legislators from the House of Representatives, eight will be appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and five will be appointed in consultation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

The panel will probe and report the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6 incident at the Capitol building. Moreover, it will investigate the readiness and response of the US Capitol Police and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The panel will be terminated 30 days after it issues a final report of its findings.

On January 6, a group of supporters of former US president Donald Trump entered the Capitol to protest lawmakers accepting electoral college votes from US states that Trump claimed were illegal and robbed him of election victory.