Republicans Target Jan. 6 Capitol Security Failures in New Investigation

By Jim Thomas | Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 10:56 PM EST

A new Republican-led investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach will focus on unresolved security failures rather than partisan narratives, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said Tuesday.

Loudermilk, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on Jan. 6, said his panel is continuing work that has been slowed by missing documents left behind by the previous Democrat-led committee.

During an interview, Loudermilk stated that his objective is to determine how such a large-scale breach occurred despite warnings ahead of the event.

“I appreciate at least having some real coverage of all of this,” Loudermilk said, while contrasting his panel’s work with a separate Democrat hearing held that same day.

He added that the focus of the Republican investigation is on understanding why security preparations at the Capitol failed. “We’re continuing this investigation. What we conducted over the past couple of years was a little slow going because of all the documents that had conveniently been misplaced by the previous committee,” he said.

“And so my objective has been to get to the truth, the honest truth of what happened on Jan. 6, but more importantly, how was there such a great security failure at the United States Capitol when it seems like almost everybody knew this was coming.”

Meanwhile, House Democrats marked the fifth anniversary of the Capitol breach with a forum centered on democratic norms and political violence, framing the riot as a threat to the peaceful transfer of power.

Republicans announced that their hearings would begin next week, shifting attention to unanswered questions about Capitol security decisions.