Rep. Jeffries says Jan. 6 committee is an opportunity for GOP to show they really 'back the blue'

The House Democratic Caucus chairman Tuesday said the first hearing of the new Jan. 6 select committee will test the GOP on whether they truly "back the blue" as they claim. 

"Hundreds of Capitol police officers were violently assaulted on Jan. 6," Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. "Republican members of the House claim to back the blue. They'll have an opportunity at the first hearing to keep it real and to demonstrate that those words are not just rhetorical, but they really plan to support the Capitol Police officers who defended our democracy at great personal cost to themselves on Jan. 6." The first hearing of the newly formed Jan. 6 committee is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 27, when the lawmakers will hear first-hand accounts from four police officers who were defending the Capitol that day. Republicans have dismissed the new committee as a political ploy, but Democrats have argued there needs to be an in-depth investigation on what went wrong and how to prevent such an attack from happening again.