- Pelosi Vows to Move Forward With Independent Inquiry Into Capitol Riot (New York Times) – Calls have grown among lawmakers for a 9/11 Commission-style panel to be established, which would most likely require legislation.
- David Perdue Files to Run Against Raphael Warnock for Georgia Senate Seat (New York Times) – Mr. Perdue, who lost a runoff election last month against Senator Jon Ossoff, is taking the first step in the Republican Party’s effort to try to win back a Senate seat in 2022.
- Pelosi says there will be a 9/11 Commission-style panel to examine Jan. 6 Capitol riot (Washington Post) – “It is clear from [retired Army Gen. Russel Honoré’s] findings and from the impeachment trial that we must get to the truth of how this happened,” she wrote.
- A GOP donor gave $2.5 million for a voter fraud investigation. Now he wants his money back. (Washington Post) – Eshelman has alleged in two lawsuits that True the Vote did not spend his $2 million gift and a subsequent $500,000 donation as it said it would. Eshelman also alleges that True the Vote directed much of his money to people or businesses connected to the group’s president, Catherine Engelbrecht.
- Parler is back online, more than a month after tangle with Amazon knocked it offline (Washington Post) – Parler appeared to be using a Los Angeles-based cloud hosting company called SkySilk to return online.
- McConnell doesn’t rule out getting involved in Republican primaries (The Hill) – McConnell said he is interested in “getting candidates who can actually win in November,” adding “that may or may not involve trying to affect the outcome of the primaries.”
- Reality check: Biden, Democrats buck bipartisanship with ambitious agenda (Washington Times) – “His biggest challenge is he has to get control of the virus,” said Elaine C. Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and longtime Democratic activist. “What happens with the virus is going to set the parameters for everything else.”
- A bloody insurrection, a deadly pandemic: Historians weigh in on Trump’s legacy after his acquittal (USA Today) – “It will always be remembered by how it ended,” presidential historian Alvin Felzenberg said. “It will also be remembered for its divisiveness and his personal attacks and his lack of respect for political institutions.”
- Support for Third U.S. Political Party at High Point (Gallup Poll) – 62% of U.S. adults say the “parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed,” an increase from 57% in September.
- Eric Metaxas Believes America Is Creeping Toward Nazi Germany (The Atlantic) – The pro-Trump radio host explains how he thinks about the Capitol siege and President Joe Biden’s America.
- Some of his followers are being sought by the FBI. It’s not stopping the leader of the Oath Keepers. (CNN) – The national leader of the extremist Oath Keepers group is carrying on as before. He might even be emboldened.
- Biden and the Fed Leave 1970s Inflation Fears Behind (New York Times) – Administration and Fed officials argue that workers not getting enough stimulus help is a larger concern than potential spikes in consumer prices.
