logo
ENع
Why are Republicans refusing to budge on the Jan. 6 plaque honoring law enforcement?

Why are Republicans refusing to budge on the Jan. 6 plaque honoring law enforcement?

Yahoo23-05-2025

After the Jan. 6 attack, lawmakers agreed to install a permanent plaque to honor the law enforcement personnel who helped protect the U.S. Capitol against right-wing rioters. By statute, the plaque would list the names of the officers who served; it would be placed on the western side of the building; and it would be in place by March 2023.
That was two months ago. As The Washington Post reported, the plaque is done, and it's ready to be installed, but it's currently 'sitting in a Capitol basement utility room surrounded by tools and maintenance equipment.'
Last week, House and Senate Democrats used the backdrop of National Police Week to highlight their ongoing efforts to have the legislation implemented. They say the only thing keeping the plaque from public view is that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Republican members have not yet instructed the Architect of the Capitol to install it.
The Post's report added that Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin confirmed during a congressional hearing last month that his office needs approval from the House speaker's office — that and Johnson still hasn't given his approval.
As is usually the case when the political discussion turns to the Jan. 6 assault, a variety of Democrats have been quick to draw attention to this, while Republican officials have denied comment.
There's no great mystery here. GOP officials could follow the law and honor the officers who protected democracy and our country's principal seat of government, but in Republican politics, the story of what transpired on Jan. 6 has been turned on its head.
The heroes, according to the party's preferred narrative, were the rioters.
In the only 2024 debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Republican was asked whether he had any regrets about the Jan. 6 attack. It was a good question, which he struggled answer.
'Ashli Babbitt was shot by an out-of-control police officer that should have never, ever shot her,' Trump said, adding, 'Nobody on the other side was killed.'
This was wrong and offensive for a variety of reasons — Trump's condemnation of the officer was absurd — but of particular interest was his description of law enforcement as 'the other side.'
In other words, for the incumbent president, there's an 'us' and a 'them.' The rioters who attacked the Capitol in Trump's name are part of the former, while the police are part of the latter. It's a perspective rooted in the idea that there are tribal political teams, and as far as Trump's concerned, the officers who served on Jan. 6 were the opposition.
Congressional Republicans know this, which helps to explain why the plaque that should've been installed months ago is gathering dust in a closet.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities
Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has flipped her stance on Iran after President Donald Trump nuked her intelligence as 'wrong.' Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 25 that there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was building nuclear weapons, though the country had enriched its uranium to higher levels. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's June 12 'preemptive' strike on Iran—which he justified by saying that the country has a 'secret plan' to weaponize uranium—Trump sided with Israel's countervailing position. On two separate occasions this week, Trump rebuffed Gabbard's earlier assessment of Iran's nuclear program. 'I don't care what [Gabbard] said,' Trump said aboard Air Force One. 'I think they were very close to having one.' In another comment on Wednesday, the president added that Iran was 'a few weeks' away from turning their uranium into a weapon, echoing similar sentiments shared by Netanyahu. Then on Friday, Gabbard fell in line with Trump, attacking the media for having the gall to believe what she said. 'The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,' Gabbard wrote to her 600K followers. 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.' She added, 'President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' Gabbard included a clip of what she called her 'full testimony,' which has since racked up 8.9 million views. The world has been thrown into a state of limbo while Trump weighs a decision on whether to get the United States involved in strikes on Iran, a decision the country warned would be 'very dangerous.' In a statement read on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said he would make his decision 'within the next two weeks' based on the fact that there 'is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.' Reuters reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with a group of European diplomats in Geneva on Friday for nuclear talks.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store