The White House on Thursday shot down the prospect of President Joe Biden appointing his own commission to investigate the Capitol riots which took place on January 6.
"As the President has said, the events of January 6th were an unprecedented assault on our democracy — and he believes they deserve a full, and independent, investigation to determine what transpired and ensure it can never happen again," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, according to The Hill.
"Congress was attacked on that day, and President Biden firmly agrees with Speaker Pelosi that Congress itself has a unique role and ability to carry out that investigation. Because of that, the President doesn’t plan to appoint his own commission," she added.
"Members of Congress swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the President believes they can, and must, do that by putting politics aside and supporting a full and transparent investigation into January 6th," concluded Psaki.
The US House of Representatives last week passed a bill to form a commission to probe the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The bill was approved in a 252-175 vote, with 35 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.
Two days later, however, Senate Republicans blocked the legislation. Senators voted 54-35 on the House-passed bill, falling short of the 10 GOP votes needed to get it over an initial hurdle.
Former President Donald Trump has been accused of inciting the January 6 riots on the Capitol, though the Senate acquitted Trump of charges of “inciting insurrection” leading to the riots.
The NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) recently sued Trump in connection with the riots. The lawsuit alleges that Trump incited the Capitol riot in violation of a Reconstruction Era law commonly referred to as the Ku Klux Klan Act.
The White House said in the aftermath of last week’s vote that Biden remained committed to supporting an independent investigation into the attacks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has previously ruled out a presidential commission as a non-starter.