JANUARY 6 ATTACK

On 2026-01-06, Representative Timothy M. Kennedy (D-NY-26) delivered a floor speech titled "JANUARY 6 ATTACK" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered foreign policy, trade policy.

JANUARY 6 ATTACK

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026)] [House] [Pages H6-H11] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] JANUARY 6 ATTACK (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Clyburn of South Carolina was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from South Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to co-anchor the CBC Special Order along with my distinguished colleague, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland. For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on the January 6 insurrection attack, an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, the constituents we represent, and all Americans. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay homage to the men and women who 5 years ago risked their lives protecting the lives of those elected officials who met in this Hall in fulfillment of their constitutional duties to peacefully transfer Presidential power after the November 2020 elections. Mr. Speaker, January 6, 2021, will be forever remembered for the vicious unprecedented insurrection that took place on that date. On December 31, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee released the transcript of its December 17 private 8-hour interview with Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose investigation into the events of that day led him to describe January 6 as an event that ``does not happen'' without President Trump. Smith testified that Donald Trump is the `` `most culpable and most responsible person' in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.'' He continued: ``These crimes were committed for his benefit. . . . The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit.'' Smith concluded that Trump caused the violence, exploited it, and refused to stop it. Mr. Speaker, I was in this Hall on January 6, 2021, and was among those whisked away to an undisclosed location. My staff huddled behind barricaded doors that were badly damaged by the mob that was described by some of my Republican colleagues as ``patriots'' on a tour of the Capitol. Our valiant United States Capitol Police and first responders did everything they could to keep us out of harm's way. Some were beaten, strangled, and tased. This building, the people's House, was trashed, damaged, and subjected to despicable acts. Members of Congress and their staffs feared for their lives. Some of the insurrectionists waived Confederate battle flags and exhibited Nazi symbols, and some brave American citizens died. A Republican Senator, Ron Johnson, said that by and large it was a peaceful protest. Now, Mr. Speaker, this was not a peaceful protest. It was unadulterated violence. The President of the United States and all Members of Congress take an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. That oath is a recognition of the fact that there will be times throughout history when we must deal with the enemy from within. On the second day of his Presidency, President Trump granted blanket pardons and commutations to nearly 1,600 of the rioters who stormed this Capitol on January 6, 2021. The President decided that these perpetrators should be pardoned and not pay for their crimes. By pardoning these individuals, this President has made a mockery of the pardon process and smeared the oath he took to uphold the Constitution. These actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for our democratic principles and the sanctity of the vote. The great John Lewis once shared his great fear that ``one day we may wake up and our democracy is gone.'' John and I often spoke of the delicacy of our democracy and that its future was far from guaranteed. On January 6, 2021, we came face-to-face with the reality of this fragility, but our democracy also prevailed. We were not deterred from doing our constitutional duty and certifying the legitimate results of the 2020 Presidential election. Even during this unrelenting campaign to weaken our laws and impede [[Page H7]] justice, Members of this body have stood up for our Constitution. The exceptional work of the bipartisan January 6th Committee, ably chaired by Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, illuminated for the American people the severity of the conspiracies behind the January 6 attack. Congress has also passed critical reforms to safeguard the legal process for future Presidential elections to help ensure this never happens again. Earlier today, the leader of our caucus, Hakeem Jeffries, held a special hearing to shed further light on the ongoing threats to free and fair elections and the threats to public safety posed by some of the violent criminals President Trump has let out of prison. The threat to our democracy that we witnessed 5 years ago has not lessened, and our obligations to be vigilant in its defense and steadfast in our pursuit of a more perfect Union is as important as ever. The Constitution that binds this country together is a sacred document that has guided our pursuit of perfection for nearly 250 years. We came close to derailing that pursuit on January 6, 2021. If we refuse to acknowledge the facts and give due deference to the violence that took place 5 years ago, we run the risk of abdicating our responsibility to the American people to safeguard our Nation's core principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The insurrection of January 6 could very well be the worst domestic attack on our government since the Civil War, which ended in 1865. That insurrection incented much of my recently released third book titled: ``The First Eight,'' which chronicles the trials and tribulations of the eight African Americans who served in Congress from my home State of South Carolina before me. The book also highlights the social and political events that occurred in the aftermath of the Civil War and calls attention to the violence and lawlessness that occurred during their service and took our great Nation into a dark place that lasted for nearly a century. There are 95 years between number eight in their group and yours truly, number nine. The book is a cautionary tale that reminds us of the warning of the Spanish philosopher George Santayana that ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' I fear that the danger John Lewis fretted about is facing us today. The aftermath of January 6, 2021, continues to test our ability to protect our freedom and willingness to continue our trek toward a more perfect Union. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). {time} 1930 Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. He and I have known each other for some 60 years. We have served in this body for a very long time. I can remember two events. One was on September 11, 2001, and we were, as the gentleman observed, attacked by an enemy from without. That was horrific. America lost thousands of lives that day. We stood on the steps of the United States Senate that evening and sang ``God Bless America.'' On January 6, I was sitting where the gentleman from South Carolina now stands. I saw an officer, a detail officer from the Capitol Police, come in and take Speaker Pelosi from the rostrum. Then, the Capitol Policeman assigned to my detail, as we call it, came up to me, took me by the arm, and said: We have to get out of here. I got to that door. We went through that door, and I said to him: What has happened? The stunning words of his reply were: The Capitol has been breached. Mr. Speaker, I observed, and I don't know whether the cameras are panning this House, but the other side of the aisle is empty, failing to recognize one of the most grievous, criminal, treasonous events that has happened during the 44-plus years that I have been in this House. It is as if it were not a historic event, where every Member of this House, 435 of us, ought to be rising today and saying that, America, we will not survive that kind of conduct; that is not America; and urging every one of our constituents, as I am going to quote George Washington in just a minute, to honor democracy in victory and in defeat. Al Gore lost a Presidential election 5-4. When the Supreme Court said that the election was over, by a vote of 5-4, Al Gore did what real patriots do. He said that the Court has declared the election ended, and because of his love of America and democracy, and because that is how our system works, as a nation of laws, not of men and women. Mr. Speaker, my favorite painting in the Capitol hangs in the rotunda. It was painted by John Trumbull. It depicts George Washington in the Maryland State Senate Chamber as he resigns his commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army at the end of the Revolutionary War. That painting, Mr. Speaker, is a testament to a man who so eagerly relinquished his power and who only reluctantly reclaimed it when the American people called him to serve as their first President. It is a symbol of the peaceful transition of power upon which our democracy depends. Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago today, that painting towered over the swarm of insurrectionists Donald Trump sent to this Capitol. That is why he was deemed to be, as the whip said, the most culpable of the figures involved in this insurrection. What did he say? He told the mob to ``stop the steal'' and to ``fight like hell.'' Then, he deployed them to the Capitol of the United States of America, the beacon of democracy, freedom, and liberty for all the world, and the Capitol