Congressional Republicans have lined up their counterprogramming to the first hearing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s select committee on the Jan. 6 riot — a protest outside the Capitol.
This demonstration on Tuesday will focus, however, on the unrest in Cuba that’s drawn concern from both sides of the aisle.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the American Conservative Union plan to accuse President Biden of failing to provide concrete support for the Cuban people.
Cubans have poured into the streets of Havana to protest the communist regime as they suffer from economic oppression and a lack of COVID-19 vaccines.
“The Cuban people have taken to the streets where the communist dictatorship has cracked down on protestors, who are being beaten, jailed, and murdered by the hundreds. The dictatorship is shutting down internet access and jamming Radio Martí,” an announcement stated. “So far, the Biden administration has failed to assist the Cuban people in their fight for freedom and refuses to stop the brutality of the Cuban communist regime.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Alex Mooney of West Virginia will attend alongside the Tea Party Patriots.
The demonstration will kick off at noon as Democrats formally kick-start a probe into the events of Jan. 6, when a mob of then-President Trump’s supporters broke down barriers, beat cops, and stormed the Capitol while Congress tried to certify electoral votes from the 2020 election.
Mrs. Pelosi took the notable step of blocking two Republican appointees to the committee, Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio — on the grounds they are Trump supporters who wouldn’t take a serious look at the events of the day.
“As the legislation allows, I didn’t accept two of the people appointed as they had made statements and taken actions that I think would impact the integrity of the committee,” the California Democrat said Thursday.
Mr. McCarthy responded by pulling all five of his GOP appointees to the committee.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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