Members of Congress want a commission to investigate the Capitol invasion. Here’s when these work.

Some commissions kick the can down the road. Some prompt real change.

Analysis by Jordan Tama

January 19, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST

A member of the National Guard stands in the rotunda at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 13. (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)

Observers and politicians are calling for an independent investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that members of Congress are showing “strong interest” in creating an independent commission akin to the one that studied the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also floated the idea, and lawmakers in both parties are issuing an array of proposals to establish a probe.