Between the lines: “The whole campus is aware of this juxtaposition of these two dates and what they’re attempting to do, which is to disrupt our democracy,” said Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.).
- Rep. Susie Wild (R-Penn.) said GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy cowered “into submission to the extreme fringe” after Jan. 6, “and today, his conference can’t even come together to perform a threshold action.”
- “It was the government shutdown in ’19, the insurrection of ’21, and now the current chaos of ’23,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) told Axios. “The common denominator … is having a handful of Republicans in the House of Representatives who have no interest in governing.”
- “It’s not lost on us that some of these people were the actors that were involved on January 6,” Kuster said, referencing House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Penn.), one of the GOP defectors. “Mr. Perry asked for a pardon because of illegal acts. That’s a part of this that is so troublesome.”
Driving the news: President Biden will, for the first time in office, award the Presidential Citizens Medal to 12 people at a ceremony honoring “exemplary contributions to our democracy” on Friday.
- Recipients include Capitol Police officers who were injured or died during the riot and election workers who fought off attempts from former President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election results.
- Incoming House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will also lead an event in the Capitol at 10 a.m. ET, multiple lawmakers tell Axios.
Shortly after, members of the “Gallery Group” are hosting Capitol Police officers for a lunch to commemorate the work they did on the same day two years ago, members of the group said.
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/06/jan6-second-anniversary-speaker-vote