Meet the members of the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection

Thompson is also chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and worked with the panel’s top Republican, Rep. John Katko of New York, to reach a compromise behind the legislation that would have created an independent commission to investigate the January 6 riot. That legislation passed the House but was killed in the Senate. Thompson has built much of his congressional career on the Homeland Security panel, defined by the fallout from devastating events like Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Aguilar was first elected to Congress in 2014, after serving as mayor of Redlands, California. He told CNN earlier this month members of the committee are united in following the truth and not letting politics dictate how it pursues its investigation. “I don’t get the sense that my colleagues worry this is going to be a circus,” Aguilar said.

Cheney was formerly the No. 3 member of House Republican leadership before a very public break with Trump following his role in inciting the January 6 riot. Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump earlier this year and has been an outspoken critic of both the former President and GOP lawmakers who support his “Big Lie” about the 2020 election. She was ousted from her leadership position in May.

Kinzinger has been a vocal critic of Trump and was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for his second impeachment. Kinzinger served in the Air Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He continues to serve in the Air National Guard as a pilot. “I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution—and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer,” Kinzinger said in a statement accepting a position on the committee. “This moment requires a serious, clear-eyed, non-partisan approach. We are duty-bound to conduct a full investigation on the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814 and to make sure it can never happen again.”

Lofgren has the unique distinction of having connections to all four presidential impeachment investigations of the modern era, serving as a staffer to Rep. Don Edwards, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, in 1974 during Richard Nixon’s impeachment, before being elected to the same seat two decades later. Lofgren was an impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020 – though not his second in 2021 – and has been a longtime member of the influential Judiciary Committee, including during Bill Clinton’s impeachment.

Luria served two decades in the Navy before winning a competitive election for her seat in 2018, flipping the district to Democratic control. “The goal was never to make this partisan,” she told CNN earlier this month after being named to the select committee. “We’re looking at this like the 9/11 commission. … This is about protecting our democracy.”

Murphy is seen as a moderate and a rising star in Florida Democratic politics, who earlier this year announced she would not run for a competitive US Senate seat in her state. Before coming to Congress, she served as a national security specialist in the office of the Secretary of Defense.

A constitutional law professor at American University, Raskin was a central figure in Trump’s second impeachment trial earlier this year where he was Democrats’ lead impeachment manager. His emotional testimony during the trial was a defining characteristic of Democrats’ case against Trump, and he repeatedly cited his and his family’s experience on January 6, when his daughter was forced into hiding in the Capitol, to underscore the seriousness of the insurrection.

The chairman of the influential House Intelligence Committee, Schiff was the lead impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020. As Intel chairman he also oversaw multiple high-profile hearings during the impeachment proceedings featuring damning testimony over the former President’s attempt to find dirt on then presidential candidate Joe Biden.