One year after supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the House Jan. 6 commission will reconviene to continue its investigation.

In the new year, the hearings are expected to shift out from behind closed doors and into the public square. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Jan. 6 commission is expected to continue more openly in the new year, and its effects may ripple throughout the 2022 midterm elections

  • It's possible that the investigation into who was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot may affect electoral hopes of Congressmembers — and may also further the split between Democrats and Republicans

  • Historically, the president's party loses seats in both the House and the Senate in midterm elections

  • Should that trend continue, Democrats will need to build coalitions to further President Biden's policy agenda

The commission’s work then might have an impact on the upcoming midterm elections, Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, told Spectrum News.

“What I’ll be looking for is to see whether this January 6 commission comes through with some real, concrete evidience that there were members of Congress — their own colleagues — who were somehow involved,” Greer said.

“We need to fundamentally understand who was involved in trying to overthrow a free and fair election,” Greer added.

But she notes another possibility — that the commission’s findings may continue to expand the national rift between Republicans and Democrats. The split has already taken its toll on President Joe Biden’s policy agenda, including his $1.75 billion Build Back Better social and climate initiative.

“You have an entire political party that just says ‘the answer is no’ before you even ask the question,” Greer said.

That schism may be exacerbated by the results of the midterm elections. Historically, the president’s party tends to lose seats during midterms. That trend has been observed among both Republican and Democratic administrations, and been bucked only a few times over the last 50 years.

In that case, the key then would be consensus-building among Republicans and Democrats in both chambers…though, as Greer noticed, they’ve yet to be successful doing so in this Congress.

“I’m curious to see if the majority leader will be able to somehow put together a few coalitions here or there. Thus far Democrats have not been able to get a significant number of Republicans across the aisle,” Greer said.

And while Greer would like to see voting rights legislation passed to counteract restrictive state legislation in Texas and Georgia, the most pressing item is the federal budget.

If Congress doesn’t meet its current mid-February deadline, the country could face a government shutdown.