Davis: Failed Leadership Left The Capitol Unprepared On January 6th

Press Release

Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today spoke about his efforts to reform United States Capitol Police leadership and the need for Speaker Pelosi to answer questions about why her approval was needed to allow the National Guard on campus as rioters breached the Capitol steps on January 6th and why the House Sergeant at Arms will not turn over documents requested by his office.

Key Quotes

Davis fought for reform long before January 6th

"When Leader McCarthy asked me to be Ranking Member on the House Administration Committee in the last Congress, he told me to fix things around this Capitol, which is why, as he mentioned, we introduced the Capitol Police Advancement Act during the last Congress, that would have increased transparency and accountability through semi-annual reports in addressing many of the issues that have been brought up for years in IG reports, GAO studies, and other different forms of communication with Congress. The Democrats chose not to advance our legislation to help our officers...

"The structure here in the United States Capitol is that. the chief of police cannot make a final security decision without going to political appointees that make up the Capitol Police board, his or her bosses. They can't get the security posture where they think it is up to par before they have to go to political appointees. We tried to fix this over the last few years, and the Democrats have stopped us every single step of the way."

CLICK HERE for details of the Capitol Police Advancement Act.

Why is the House Sergeant at Arms denying our requests for documents related to January 6th

"Frankly, some of the questions that I think need to be asked of the Speaker, and I hope all of you in front of us today ask these questions, on January 6th. At 1:43pm, Speaker Pelosi was passed to note while in the Speaker's chair on the House floor requesting permission to seek support from the National Guard from then-Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving, who was appointed by the Speaker and then subsequently fired that day by the Speaker. This account has been confirmed by the Speaker's office. Why was the Speaker's permission even needed? By this time, pipe bombs had already been found outside the RNC and the DNC, and rioters had breached the steps. If Sergeant at Arms Irving felt he needed the Speaker's approval, then what were the instructions and conversations he had with the Speaker's office prior to January 6th? Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has testified that Irving was concerned, as many have said, about the optics, and we know that the Speaker's office was calling the shots on all of their actions on January 6th, but we don't have the details leading up to those conversations or conversations leading up to the 6th because, under the Speaker's direction, the Sergeant at Arms has denied our House Administration official request to preserve documents and communications."

CLICK HERE for more information on Davis' efforts to remove politics from Capitol security decisions.

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