Democrats press for long-delayed plaque to honor Jan. 6 victims, police heroes
President-elect Donald Trump won’t have to walk in plaque He was sworn in Monday on the west side of the Capitol to pay tribute to the heroes of January 6.
That’s because more than four years after the Capitol riot, a new controversy is emerging over a plaque commemorating heroes and victims. assault. The 2022 law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden requires a plaque to be placed on the west side of the Capitol by March 2023. All Republican House leaders close to Trump have yet to erect the plaque, nor have they provided any timeline for doing so.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, a group of nearly 60 House Democrats wrote: “As members of Congress, we are grateful to these brave officers who defended the Capitol and allowed us to Be safe. We request an update on your timeline for complying with the law and placing this plaque.”
House Democrats eager to get the plaque include Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who was among those trapped in the upper chamber of the House chamber as rioters laid siege to the Capitol. Crow and his colleagues wrote to Johnson, “Every day Congress fails to deliver on the actions we have promised, we do a disservice to our military members who help protect members of Congress, congressional staff, our constituents and the American people.”
Other Democrats who signed the letter to Johnson include the former House Speaker Nancy PelosiOn January 6, some members of the House Select Committee and other Democrats were trapped in the vicinity of a violent mob.
Johnson’s office did not respond to CBS News’ request for comment or for updated information about the plaque or its timeline. He also declined to answer questions last week about the status of the project.
House Democrats said in the letter that House administrators have confirmed “the plaque is complete” and said its placement “remains pending action by Speaker Johnson.”
The attack on the Capitol injured more than 140 police officers. Several people also committed suicide in the days after the riots.
Several Democrats and staffers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 accused Republicans of caving to Trump by downplaying or ignoring the violence of the siege. former capitol police officer Harry DunnJohnson, who unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. House seat in Maryland as a Democrat last year, told CBS News, “Speaker Johnson has not and cannot provide any reason.”
“He’s done nothing but obstruction at this point,” Dunn said.
Democrats have been pressuring House leaders for months to delay the presentation of the plaque, without success. In May, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a member of the House special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, wrote to Johnson seeking answers about the “failure to install the plaque.” .
Lofgren told CBS News, “Last May, I sent Speaker Johnson a polite letter asking about the delay, but he never responded. My office followed up and we first got a vague The media responded. Then, crickets”
Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., ranking member of the House Administration Committee, told CBS News, “This plaque should be installed as required by law. Refusing to display the January 6 plaque is denialism.” Part of what Republicans have become: denying the events of January 6th and the harm they caused to the U.S. Capitol Police and our American democracy.”
