The U.S. Senate on Tuesday began its inquiry into the January 6th Capitol riot of Trump supporters that claimed 5 lives and got within minutes of lawmakers scrambling to escape the violent mob bent on ensuring Trump’s continued reign. Among those who testified in the televised hearings were former security officers for the Capitol police who blamed federal law enforcement and the Justice Department for delays in sending in the National Guard and failing to anticipate the level of violence that was planned. Captain Carneysha Mendoza was among those who spoke. Republicans, many of whom have remained firmly supportive of Trump, attempted to trivialize the serious nature of the attack. Among them, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin went as far as perpetuating the increasingly popular conspiracy theory that there were leftwing activists posing as Trump supporters. Senator Johnson failed to acknowledge that there have been hundreds of confirmed Trump supporters arrested and charged in connection to the riot that have spoken out openly about their loyalty to Trump.

Tuesday was a busy day on Capitol Hill with several hearings taking place including a confirmation hearing for Xavier Becerra as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Republicans sought to paint Mr. Becerra as unqualified, ignoring the fact that Trump’s last HHS Secretary Alex Azar had no experience in the field of health other than being an executive at a pharmaceutical firm. Becerra has in the past expressed support for enacting a Single Payer healthcare system in the United States. Several Republicans were worried about his respect for the “sanctity of life,” by which they referred to unborn fetuses rather than living human beings who may not have access to healthcare. 

Also facing a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was Congresswoman Deb Haaland of New Mexico who is being considered to lead the Interior Department. If confirmed Haaland would become the nation’s first indigenous Interior Secretary, a fact she acknowledged in her opening statement. But conservative Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia has expressed reluctance over supporting her. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called him out on Twitter saying, “Jeff Sessions was so openly racist that even Reagan couldn’t appoint him. Manchin voted to confirm him. Sessions then targeted immigrant children for wide-scale human rights abuses w/ family separation. Yet the 1st Native woman to be Cabinet Sec is where Manchin finds unease?”