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The Jan. 6 select committee filing that set off a siren in the political world landed with a thud among Senate Republicans on Thursday.

The House panel said it had "a good-faith basis for concluding" former President TrumpDonald TrumpMcCarthy-backed Republican wins contested Texas House primary DHS grants temporary immigration status to all Ukrainians in the US Senate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation MORE and members of his campaign "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States,"and that Trump tried toobstruct Congress's formal counting of the Electoral College vote.

The filing marked a bombshell moment for the committee, offering a preview into the panel's thinking about the former president months into its investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, when a mob of his supporters breached the Capitol.

But Senate Republicans, many of whom have been skeptical of the House panel, shrugged off the revelation or said they missed it altogether.

"I'm aware of the reporting on it. I haven't seen the filing or anything around it, and so I just really don't have anything for you on that," said Sen. John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneSenate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation Senate Republicans oppose Biden's .5 billion COVID-19 relief request The Hill's Morning Report - Russia-Ukraine war enters second deadly week MORE (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican.

Asked about the filing, Sen. Kevin CramerKevin John CramerSenate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation Partisan cracks emerge over how to implement T infrastructure law McConnell, Scott face off over GOP's agenda MORE (R-N.D.), who Trump helped recruit for his 2018 Senate bid, said he "didn't see that" before pivoting to President BidenJoe BidenFire breaks out at major nuclear plant in Ukraine amid fighting Russia inflames political war over gas prices, oil drilling On The Money Push to block Russian imports hits wall MORE.

"The current president does so many ... things every day I can hardly worry about the last one," he said, as he left the Capitol for the week.

The filing from the House select committee is tied to the panel's legal battle to forceJohn Eastman, the lawyer charged with drafting Trump's strategy for the Jan. 6 certification, to turn over documents. Eastman had filed a lawsuit to try to block the committee's subpoena, arguing that it was privileged in part because of his legal work for Trump.

The committee's filings aren't formal charges, and no former U.S. president has been charged with a crime. But the House panel does plan to release a report of its findings, which could be formally referred to the Justice Department for potential prosecution.

It's hardly the first time Trump-focused drama has ricocheted back around to Senate Republicans, many of whom are eager to keep the focus on Biden, and not the former president, heading into the November election when they are optimistic about their chances of winning back the majority.

Trump faced pushback from some senators earlier this week over his warm rhetoric toward Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinKennedy Center lights up in blue and yellow to show support for Ukraine Russian opera star ditches Met performances to avoid Putin rebuke DHS grants temporary immigration status to all Ukrainians in the US MORE. Senate Republicans broke with the Republican National Committee (RNC) resolution last month censuring GOP Reps. Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneySenate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation Thune on glide path to reelection a year after Trump's primary threats The Memo: Boebert's antics seen as new sign of politics' decline MORE (Wyo.) and Adam KinzingerAdam Daniel KinzingerMcCarthy-backed Republican wins contested Texas House primary Senate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation The Memo: Boebert's antics seen as new sign of politics' decline MORE (Ill.) and referring to Jan. 6 as "legitimate political discourse."

And they've seen a steady churn of legal drama that they've tried to parse to figure out what it could mean for Trump and their party whenhe's still widely considered to be the front-runner for the 2024 nomination.

But Senate Republicans have been wary for months of the House Jan. 6 committee. Six GOP senators voted last year in support of a failed effort to start an independent commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack. But most Republicans warned that a probe could be used against the party during the 2022 election by keeping Jan. 6, 2021 and Trump in a spotlight.

Sen. Mike BraunMichael BraunSenate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation On The Money Fed puts strict limits on trades by top officials Biden signs bill to extend funding, avoid government shutdown MORE (R-Ind.) said on Thursday that he had only heard about the court filing from another reporter.

"I just heard about it now," Braun said. "I think we'll have that kind of thing be highlighted here until the time Trump announces whether he's going to run or not. ...To be honest I don't pay much attention to that."

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamSenate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation Biden signs bill banning forced arbitration in sexual misconduct cases Pelosi says Boebert and Greene 'should just shut up' MORE (R-S.C.), who has remained close to Trump, also cast doubt on any Justice Department case that could stem from a potential referral from the committee. If the panel makes a referral to the Justice Department, it would then have to determine whether to move forward.

"I don't see anything coming out of this committee not tainted by politics," Graham said.

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Senate GOP shrugs off latest Trump revelation | TheHill - The Hill

Its been a terrible twelve months for voting rights in the United States. By the end of 2021, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least nineteenstates had passed a combined thirty-fourlaws that restrict access to voting, and legislators in at least twenty-sevenstates are currently working onmore than two hundred and fifty bills that would do the same. In the Senate, Republicans have thwarted every attempt by Democrats to protect the right to vote, successively rejecting the comprehensive For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (which would have restored those parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were eviscerated by the Supreme Court, in 2013), and, most recently, the Freedom to Vote Act, which was constructed to appeal to Republicans. (It didnt.)

So it struck many as odd that when, last month, some Senate Republicans, led by Susan Collins, of Maine, dangled the prospect of a bipartisan fix to an existing piece of election-related legislationthe Electoral Count Act, of 1887the Democratic leadership was less than enthusiastic. At the time, the Party was pressing Senators Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, of Arizona, to agree to change the filibuster rulescurrently the only way forward for voting-rights legislationand the two senators were holding out for a buy-in from their Republican colleagues. The timing of Collinss approach, then, raised suspicions in some Democratic quarters that it was intended to circumvent those discussions. Even more problematic, it appeared to be a bait and switch, since the Electoral Count Actwhich is meant, among other things, to codify procedures in Congress for counting Electoral College votes several weeks after a Presidential election has taken placehas nothing to do with protecting the right to vote. As Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, said, If youre going to rig the game and then say, Oh, well count the rigged game accurately, what good is that?

There is no doubt that the E.C.A.whose official long title is An act to fix the day for the meeting of the electors of President and Vice-President, and to provide for and regulate the counting of the votes for President and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereonis flawed, potentially dangerous, and in need of reform. It was enacted in response to the contested Presidential election of 1876, when Samuel J. Tilden, the Democratic nominee, who appeared to have won the popular vote, came up one vote shy of the hundred and eighty-five Electoral College votes then required to assume the Presidency. His Republican opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, tallied around twenty fewer votes, but, after officials in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon sent competing slates of electors to Washington, the outcome was thrown into doubt. Ultimately, Southern Democrats agreed to cede the election to Hayes, in return for the removal of federal troops and the restoration of local rulea euphemism for the Jim Crow laws that followedeffectively ending Reconstruction.

The E.C.A., which was passed a decade later, was intended to avoid any future such crises by clarifying the practices and procedures for certifying a Presidential election, laying out the process with more specificity than the Twelfth Amendment, which sets out the protocol for electing the President and Vice-President. Among other things, the E.C.A. establishes a safe harbor deadlinesix days before the meeting of the Electoral Collegeby which states must resolve disputes about the winner of the election. (In most states, slates of electors formally select the candidate who won the popular vote there; Maine and Nebraska use a congressional-district method.) The E.C.A. also enables members of Congress to object to counting votes from certain states, as long as one senator and one House member object in writing. The law does not, however, indicate what constitutes an appropriate objection, leaving that up to Congress. For an objection to stick, it needs to garner a simple majority in each chamber. (That has never happened. On January 6, 2021, after the attack on the Capitol, Senators Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Josh Hawley, of Missouri, were prominently chastised by some of their Republican colleagues for what were perceived to be bald attempts to further their own political ambitions by currying favor with Trumps base, through continued objections to counting the votes from Pennsylvania and Arizona. In total, fewer than a dozen Republican senators and more than a hundred Republican representatives voted against certifying the Presidential elections results.)

Even before the 2020 election, commentators were warning that the E.C.A. could be used to upend the outcome in states, for example, with a Democratic governor and secretary of state but a Republican-controlled legislature. If Trump had an early lead in the votes, experts warned, the Republican lawmakers in those states might submit a slate of Trump electors (based on provisional results), while the Democratic governor, waiting until all the ballots were counted to submit a slate, could miss the safe-harbor deadline. If this were to happen, the observers warned, the Vice-President could invoke the E.C.A. and potentially void a legitimate slate of Biden electors, handing the election to Trump. According to an investigation by the Washington Post, some of Trumps campaign officials, and his attorney Rudolph Giuliani, had a similar idea. They were reportedly behind an effort that saw illegitimate slates of Trump electors from five states that Biden wonWisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and Michiganpresent themselves at their state capitols and send signed fake certificates to Washington. Republican electors from two additional states, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, also sent certificates, but, the Post noted, those documents explicitly stated that they were to be considered only if the election results were upended. (Giuliani and a Trump spokesperson did not respond at the time to the Posts requests for comment.) Around the same time, some of Trumps most ardent supporters, led by Representative Louie Gohmert, of Texas, brought suit in U.S. District Court arguing that the E.C.A. is unconstitutional. They claimed that, as Vice-President, Mike Pence may exercise the exclusive authority and sole discretion in determining which electoral votes to count for a given State, and must ignore and may not rely on any provisions of the Electoral Count Act that would limit his exclusive authority and his sole discretion to determine the count, which could include votes from the slates of Republican electors from the Contested States. After the case was tossed out, it was appealed to the Supreme Court, which received it on January 6th, just as Trump and the Stop the Steal rioters were hounding Pence to do Trumps bidding. The Court rejected the suit the next day.

Trump, for his part, still seems to think that Pence had the power, under the E.C.A., to single-handedly reverse the will of the people. In a statement issued a few weeks ago, he wrote, If the Vice President (Mike Pence) had absolutely no right to change the Presidential Election results in the Senate, despite fraud and many other irregularities, how come the Democrats and RINO Republicans, like Wacky Susan Collins, are desperately trying to pass legislation that will not allow the Vice President to change the results of the election? Actually, what they are saying, is that Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didnt exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!

Despite the former Presidents convoluted and faulty logic, he and his supporters might be forgiven for invoking the E.C.A. in contradictory ways. Writing about the law after the 2020 election, my colleague Steve Coll called it kludgy. As the Times has pointed out, it isa morass of archaic and confusing language. One especially baffling sentence inSection 15which lays out what is meant to happen when Congress counts the votes on Jan. 6is 275 words long and contains 21 commas and two semicolons. Bob Bauer, a law professor at New York University who advised the Biden campaign on voting rights and voter protections, told me that the E.C.A., as it is written, is premised on and reflects a role for Congress that is not consistent with the constitutional designor even with basic intuitionsabout the imperative of limiting political manipulation of the electoral process. But reforming the E.C.A. by increasing the number of Congress members required to object to a slate of electorsa provision supported by some Republicans and Democratsactually may exacerbate the danger of manipulation. As the journalist Judd Legum has argued in his newsletter Popular Information, this could make it harder for Congress to reject a slate of phony electors submitted by a governor who supports a candidate trying to steal an election. (For example, David Perdue, who is running for governor in Georgia, has said that, if he had been governor in 2020, he would not have certified the states results of the Presidential election. Trump has endorsed Perdue over the incumbent Republican governor, Brian Kemp.)

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Why Are Republicans Suddenly Interested in Reforming an Election-Related Law? - The New Yorker

More Republicans have a negative view of Joe Biden than of Vladimir Putin and more Democrats have a negative view of Donald Trump than of the Russian leader, according to a new poll.

The findings point to deep domestic divisions as well as disagreement over Bidens handling of the Ukraine crisis.

Fox News released the poll, which it said was carried out before Russia invaded Ukraine.

It said 92% of Republicans had a negative view of Biden while 81% had a negative view of Putin. Among Democrats, 87% had a negative view of Trump and 85% a negative view of Putin.

Biden has condemned the Russian invasion and introduced tough economic sanctions, in concert with other world powers.

Trump has repeatedly praised Putin and criticised Biden, on Thursday adapting a favorite golfing metaphor to claim the Russian leader was playing his counterpart like a drum.

Trumps attacks are in line with those from Republicans in Congress, who claim Biden has been too weak on Russia, both as president and as vice-president under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017.

In the Fox News poll, 56% said Biden had not been tough enough on Russia, 8% said he had been too tough and 29% said he had been about right.

Among Democrats, 42% of respondents said they wanted Biden to be tougher and 47% said his actions were about right.

Fox News said Bidens numbers tracked closely to the same question about Trump when he was in power. In July 2018, 53% said Trump was not tough enough, 5% too tough and 35% about right.

That month, Russian election interference in Trumps favor and his links with Moscow were the subject of an investigation in which the special counsel, Robert Mueller, ultimately said he could not say Trump did not seek to obstruct justice.

Also in July 2018, at a summit in Helsinki, Trump and Putin conducted a meeting behind closed doors and with no close aides. What was discussed is not known.

Trump was impeached in 2020, for attempting to blackmail Ukraine, withholding military aid while requesting dirt on Biden. At trial in the Senate, only one Republican, Mitt Romney, voted to convict.

As the Republican nominee for president in 2012, Romney took a more hawkish position on Russia than Obama.

Amid the Ukraine crisis, Republicans have pointed to Romneys stance on Russia. They have been less keen to mention his vote to convict Trump over Ukraine.

The Utah senator also voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, for inciting the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

The Fox News poll returned closely matched favorability ratings for the 45th and 46th presidents, Trump on 45% and Biden 43%.

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More Republicans have negative view of Biden than of Putin, poll finds - The Guardian

A Republican organization aimed at holding GOP lawmakers accountable for spreading misinformation and the events of Jan. 6 is rolling out a new ad targeting five members of Congress on the anniversary of the Capitol attack.

The Republican Accountability Project, which also has worked to counter support for former President TrumpDonald TrumpRon Johnson to run for reelection: reports On the Money US reports meager job growth to finish 2021 Jan. 6 chair says panel will move this month to ask Pence to testify MORE, announced on Tuesday it would belaunching a six-figuread campaign targeting Republican lawmakers including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyMcCaul tests positive for COVID-19 in latest congressional breakthrough Ex-McCarthy staffer: GOP leader's strategy dictated by 'most extreme' wings of party Pelosi leads moment of silence for Jan. 6 with no Republicans except Cheneys MORE (Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSchumer makes plea for voting bill, filibuster reform in rare Friday session Like it or not, all roads forward for Democrats go through Joe Manchin The Hill's 12:30 Report: Biden comes out swinging in 2022 MORE (Ky.), Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzOvernight Health Care Presented by AstraZeneca and Friends of Cancer Research Former advisers urge Biden to revise strategy Cruz: 'Mistake' to call Jan. 6 a 'terrorist attack' Cruz looks to overturn DC student vaccine mandate MORE (Texas), Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamEx-Trump official: Former president 'failed to meet the moment' on Jan. 6 Jan. 6 and the GOP's masterclass in the emptiness of words Lindsey Graham: Biden speech 'brazen politicization' of Jan. 6 MORE (S.C.) and Rep. Mike GallagherMichael (Mike) John GallagherAnti-Trump group targeting top Republicans on Jan. 6 anniversary Congress zooms in on cybersecurity after banner year of attacks Human rights groups sound alarm over Interpol election MORE (Wis.).

The group's ad featured remarks from the aforementioned lawmakers in which they pinned the blame on Trump for the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack. These lawmakers have since sought to minimize what occurred that day or worked against efforts in Congress to investigate the attack.

"They told the truth then. Why won't they now?" the ad stated.

.@GOPLeader, @LeaderMcConnell, @tedcruz, @LindseyGrahamSC, @MikeforWI, this you?

Running on January 6 on Fox and Friends, Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Biden comes out swinging in 2022 Cruz: 'Mistake' to call Jan. 6 a 'terrorist attack' The Hill's 12:30 Report: Capitol Hill marks dark anniversary of Jan. 6 attacks MORE Tonight, and Hannity. pic.twitter.com/Ll3ViFTjAq

"Make no mistake: Trumps election lies lit the fuse for that attack on our democracy. And yet, many Republicans are still trying to memory hole the attack for political gain, Republican Accountability Project Director Olivia Troye said in a statement. "Its not enough just to reject lies and conspiracy theories about January 6. We must demand accountability for those who caused it and those who have tried to apologize for or excuse the attempt to overturn the 2020 election."

The ad will air nationally on Thursdayacross Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC. In theWest Palm Beach market, the ad will air during Fox's "Hannity" and "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

TheHouse select committee on Jan. 6 askedFox News host Sean HannitySean Patrick HannityJan. 6 and the GOP's masterclass in the emptiness of words Division reigns over Jan. 6 anniversary Anti-Trump group targeting top Republicans on Jan. 6 anniversary MORE on Tuesday to cooperate with its investigation after releasing text messages that suggested he was aware of plans to protest President BidenJoe BidenBiden addresses Coloradans after wildfires: 'Incredible courage and resolve' Ron Johnson to run for reelection: reports On the Money US reports meager job growth to finish 2021 MORE's electoral victory.

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Anti-Trump group targeting top Republicans on Jan. 6 anniversary | TheHill - The Hill

WASHINGTON Republicans were nowhere to be found at the Capitol on Thursday as President Biden and Democratic members of Congress commemorated the deadliest attack on the building in centuries, reflecting the Republican Partys reluctance to acknowledge the Jan. 6 riot or confront its own role in stoking it.

There are currently more than 250 Republican members of Congress 212 in the House and 50 in the Senate. Not a single one of those senators appeared on the Senate floor to speak about how rioters laid siege to their workplace in the name of former President Donald J. Trump, sending them fleeing for their lives.

And when lawmakers gathered in the House chamber for a moment of silence to commemorate the riot, only two Republicans joined: Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who has been ostracized and marginalized by her party for speaking out against Mr. Trump and his election lies, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The only Republican-led event on Thursday to commemorate Jan. 6 was hosted by two lawmakers on the fringes of the party, Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Seeking to deflect blame from Mr. Trump, they held a news conference to elevate unproven conspiracy theories about the origins of the assault on the Capitol.

I think its a reflection of where our party is, Ms. Cheney told reporters. Very concerning.

Some Republicans cited a scheduling conflict. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader, was in Atlanta attending the funeral of former Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, along with at least a dozen other senators from both parties.

In a statement, Mr. McConnell called Jan. 6 a dark day for Congress and our country in which the Capitol was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job.

But he also made clear that he thought Democrats were playing politics with the day, accusing them of trying to exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals that long predated this event. He was referring to plans by Democratic leaders to try to abolish or weaken the legislative filibuster to push through voting rights protections that Republicans have blocked.

Mr. McConnell did not refer to Mr. Trump in his statement.

Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, took the same strategy in an interview on Fox News, calling Jan. 6 a day that nobody wanted to see happen and noting that he had swiftly denounced the rioters. But he quickly pivoted to blaming Democrats, saying they had made the anniversary a politicized day.

Most of America wants Washington focused on their problems like inflation, high gas prices, the Covid resurgence, the border crisis, which President Biden and Speaker Pelosi continue to just let go unanswered, Mr. Scalise said, because they want every day to be about Jan. 6.

Scores of other Republicans said little or nothing one year after they evacuated the Capitol as throngs of Mr. Trumps supporters poured into the building, disrupting the counting of electoral votes to confirm Mr. Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

It was unclear on Thursday how Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, spent the day. Mr. McCarthy invoked the former presidents wrath when he said hours after the Jan. 6 attack that Mr. Trump bore responsibility for the riot; he has since walked back those remarks.

Its not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for 10 years, said Mr. Cheney, a former House member who served as the Republican whip.

In a separate statement later on Thursday, Mr. Cheney added, I am deeply disappointed at the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the Jan. 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation.

Mr. McCarthys tortured attempt at responding to Jan. 6 illustrates why many Republicans have preferred to say as little as possible about the attack, focusing on the valiant efforts by law enforcement officers to protect the Capitol rather than the leader of their party who egged on the rioters.

Representative Tom Rice of South Carolina, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting an insurrection, was one of the few Republicans who spoke out on Thursday to lay responsibility for the attack at the former presidents feet.

In an unusually blistering statement, Mr. Rice called Jan. 6 the day we nearly lost the country our founders fought for.

Any reasonable person could have seen the potential for violence that day, he said. Yet, our president did nothing to protect our country and stop the violence. The actions of the president on Jan. 6 were nothing short of reprehensible.

In the hours and days immediately following the storming of the Capitol, many congressional Republicans and their aides, who were left to barricade themselves behind desks and doors during the attack, were openly furious. Some appeared to believe or hope that their party would at last break away from Mr. Trump.

Trump and I, weve had a hell of a journey, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a close ally of Mr. Trump, said at the time. He added: All I can say is, count me out. Enough is enough.

In a speech on the Senate floor in February, Mr. McConnell said, Theres no question none that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.

But seeing that their voters still revered Mr. Trump, most of those Republicans have since gone silent, preferring to avoid opining on the events of Jan. 6 and leaving those not in elected office to take up efforts of resistance. The few Republican lawmakers who have not followed that approach, including those who voted to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting an insurrection, have become pariahs in their party.

Mark Meadows. Mr. Trumps chief of staff, who initially provided the panel with a trove of documents that showed the extent of his rolein the efforts to overturn the election, is now refusing to cooperate. The House voted to recommend holding Mr. Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress.

Fox News anchors. Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade texted Mr. Meadowsduring the Jan. 6 riot urging him to persuade Mr. Trump to makean effort to stop it. The texts were part of the material that Mr. Meadows had turned over to the panel.

Michael Flynn. Mr. Trumps former national security adviser attended an Oval Office meeting on Dec. 18 in which participants discussed seizing voting machines and invoking certain national security emergency powers. Mr. Flynn has filed a lawsuitto block the panels subpoenas.

John Eastman. The lawyer has been the subject of intense scrutinysince writing a memothat laid out how Mr. Trump could stay in power. Mr. Eastman was present at a meeting of Trump allies at the Willard Hotelthat has becomea prime focus of the panel.

Karl Rove, a top Republican strategist and architect of the modern conservative establishment, used a Wall Street Journal opinion column on Wednesday to rebuke those Republicans who for a year have excused the actions of the rioters who stormed the Capitol, disrupted Congress as it received the Electoral Colleges results and violently attempted to overturn the election.

There can be no soft-pedaling what happened and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy, Mr. Rove wrote. Love of country demands nothing less. Thats true patriotism.

Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House press secretary for Mr. Trump, said on CNN on Thursday that a group of former Trump administration officials were planning to meet next week in a long-shot effort to try and stop the former president.

But for the most part, Republican lawmakers and operatives at odds with Mr. Trump have found themselves pushed to the margins of todays Republican Party.

Instead, figures like Mr. Gaetz and Ms. Greene have basked in the spotlight and won the approval of Mr. Trumps most ardent supporters, lionizing the rioters and claiming that the former president bears no responsibility for the violence that took place on Jan. 6.

At their news conference at the Capitol on Thursday, Mr. Gaetz and Ms. Greene proposed that if Republicans take control of the House in the midterm elections, they should use the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack to look into whether federal agents stoked the violence against Congress.

There is no evidence that federal agents played any role in the assault, which occurred when supporters of Mr. Trump, who falsely claimed that the election had been stolen from him, stormed the Capitol.

Astead W. Herndon contributed reporting from New York, and Richard Fausset from Atlanta.

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Republicans Avoid Jan. 6 Observances at the Capitol - The New York Times