Here We Go Again: Another Congressional Circus Masquerading as Oversight
Here we go again with another time-consuming and costly congressional investigation, which is mostly public performative theater, and at best will produce non-binding criminal referrals to the Department of Justice on the grounds of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and perjury. With many charges already time-barred by the statute of limitations, the entire exercise begins not with the promise of accountability but with the inevitability of futility. Washington is preparing once more to roll out its favorite distraction: the grand spectacle of endless hearings, scripted outrage, and mountains of taxpayer dollars funneled into a show trial that accomplishes little beyond securing soundbites for partisan news cycles.
So, it is with a heavy sigh and a note of skepticism that I view the recent announcement of yet another committee to “investigate” the 2021 Capitol breach—this time under Republican stewardship. We’ve been here before. The previously deeply-corrupt Democrat-run United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol delivered reams of transcripts, dramatic hearings, and breathless coverage, only to leave us exactly where we started: divided, exhausted, and no closer to the truth than we were the day after the riot. Now, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) promises to pick up the baton, as if recycling the same process under a different partisan banner will somehow produce a different outcome.
Subcommittee Chairman Loudermilk has offered his statement:
“I am honored to continue the investigation into the events surrounding January 6, 2021, and the failures that led to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. From my subcommittee investigation in the 118th Congress, we uncovered that what happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities. While my subcommittee did an incredible job last Congress, there is still much work to be done. I appreciate Speaker Johnson entrusting me to continue this important investigation, and I look forward to working with Chairman Jordan and his team. It is vital that we continue to uncover the facts and begin the task of making needed reforms to ensure this level of security failure may never happen again.”
Sounds noble. It always does. But let’s not kid ourselves: Congress is not setting up this investigation to reform Capitol security or to patch intelligence leaks. That’s the veneer, the sugar coating on a very bitter pill. The real purpose of this exercise is to keep the political fires of January 6th burning, to continue weaponizing the event as a cudgel in partisan battles, and to soak up headlines that distract from the fact that Congress remains utterly incapable of governing effectively and outsources all of the heavy lifting to Executive branch agencies.
Please Don’t Bother Me, We Already Know the Answers
Here’s the reality. The public already knows the broad outlines of what happened that day. Security failures? Check. Leadership breakdowns? Check. A volatile crowd whipped into a frenzy, possibly with the assistance of federal agents and opposition party agitators? Check. We have no shortage of video footage, firsthand testimony, and forensic reporting. What we lack is not evidence or information. What we lack is the political will to admit the obvious, hold the miscreants on the previous Committee accountable for their fraud, and move on. Instead, we’re condemned to another season of grandstanding.
And let’s be honest: the conclusion is already written, whether the ink is blue or red. If Democrats run the show, the findings emphasize Trump, MAGA, and “threats to democracy.” If Republicans run the show, the focus shifts to Nancy Pelosi’s alleged security failures, the FBI’s intelligence blind spots, and the need to investigate investigators. Both sides know what narrative they’re chasing. Both sides know how the script ends. And the American public, yet again, will be the captive audience forced to sit through the rerun.
What makes this cycle especially infuriating is that while Congress devotes months to what is essentially political theater, genuine reforms languish. How about modernizing the Capitol’s security infrastructure? How about fixing the intelligence-sharing failures that preceded January 6th? How about drafting legislation to ensure that when law enforcement agencies receive credible threats, they have a legal duty to act on them? Those are real, tangible measures that could actually prevent another fiasco. But they don’t generate fiery prime-time clips. They don’t light up X (Twitter). They don’t guarantee fundraising boosts. And so, they’re left to gather dust.
Meanwhile, taxpayers foot the bill for all of it. Every hearing, every staffer, every subpoena, every report—it all comes out of our pockets. Congress is effectively running the most expensive political podcast in history, complete with live audiences, free press distribution, and zero accountability for results. Imagine if even a fraction of that money were redirected toward cybersecurity defenses, local police training, or election infrastructure. Instead, the funds are burned in the furnace of political theater.
Bottom Line
Let’s call this what it is: another circus. Another distraction. Another carefully choreographed dance designed to appear as accountability while delivering nothing of substance. Republicans and Democrats alike have learned that there is no political downside to running endless investigations. You can always claim you’re “fighting for the truth.” You can always say “the American people deserve answers.” The problem is that what the American people actually deserve—competence, honesty, and functional government—rarely survives the glare of partisan spotlights.
So, buckle up. Over the next year, expect to see more hearings, more subpoenas, and more witnesses grilled on live television. Expect headlines crafted to outrage, divide, and distract. Expect righteous speeches about reform that never materialize. And expect, when all is said and done, another hefty report that will sit on a shelf, unread, while the political machine churns forward to the next manufactured scandal.
Here we go again. We are so screwed.
— Steve
