| The indelible images from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol live larger than the narratives. Former President Trump’s role in mobilizing his armed supporters while wielding a lie about a stolen election resulted in his second House impeachment and Senate acquittal, triggered an ongoing House select committee investigation, led to the arrests of at least 725 accused rioters to date, and will forever be marked by the deaths of five people. The seat of U.S. democracy one year ago was cloaked in tear gas and hand-to-hand combat by costumed and selfie-strutting Trump believers who thought they were violently overturning a tally that certified the 45th president’s decisive loss. President Biden, who was inaugurated days later behind rings of security fencing and National Guard troops atop the same edifice scaled by the mob, plans a speech this morning in which he will accuse Trump from inside the Capitol of “singular responsibility” for misleading the American people and leaving behind “chaos and carnage” (The Hill). “Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?,” he will say in his remarks, according to the White House. “We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.” Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday defended the Justice Department’s approach to prosecuting those involved in the Jan. 6 riot, signaling potential charges for even those who never set foot in the Capitol. “The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last,” he said. “The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law, whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. We will follow the facts wherever they lead” (The Hill). The House select panel — now investigating who planned, funded and abetted the violence on Jan. 6 and the false information that fueled Trump and his backers — is gathering witness testimony and will issue a report for the history books, along with recommendations, even as Trump teases his interest in seeking the presidency in 2024. The Hill: Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham met with the select committee on Wednesday. The Hill: Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) says he wants former Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the Electoral College tally that certified Biden as president on Jan. 6, to voluntarily speak with the panel. Breaking into the Capitol a year ago, rioters shouted, “Hang Mike Pence.” Trump, unbowed by allegations that he encouraged an attempted coup and eager to wield his influence as the de facto head of the Republican Party, opted to cancel a planned press conference today at Mar-a-Lago. He encouraged supporters to attend his rally later this month in Arizona. As The Hill’s Max Greenwood reports, Trump’s change of plans on the one-year anniversary gave Republican lawmakers a reprieve; many fret that his vendettas and false claims distract the party from economic messaging aimed at the future. Niall Stanage, in his latest Memo for The Hill, writes that Trump’s future political aims will not be delinked from the events of Jan. 6 in the minds of the general electorate, should he run in 2024. The Washington Post: How Republicans became the party of Trump’s election lie after Jan. 6. The Hill: The 14th Amendment to the Constitution could be used to disqualify Trump from holding a future office, according to some constitutional scholars, Democrats and democracy advocates. While Trump decided against holding his planned press conference to air his grievances, some of his most ardent supporters are not following suit. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will hold a press conference of their own to issue the “Republican response on the anniversary of the January 6th protests.” Others who plan to weigh in are expected to attempt a balancing act: saying that they don’t condone violence, all-the-while refusing to make any direct remarks concerning the former president’s repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election that led hundreds of his supporters to storm the Capitol in the first place. As The Hill’s Cristina Marcos notes, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) wrote in a letter to House Republicans that “the actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be.” However, he then pivoted to accuse Democrats of using the events of the day “as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country,” adding that they should focus instead on improving Capitol security. However, many are expected to stay silent and keep out of the fray. The Senate pushed its next vote until Monday, meaning most senators will likely be out of town, including a number of Senate Republicans who are set to attend the funeral services for the late Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). The House is out of session until Monday. CNN: Mentioning Jan. 6 at a Trump event one year later does not go well. Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill: Division reins over Jan. 6 anniversary. The Hill: In their own words: Lawmakers, staffers remember Jan. 6 insurrection. 👉 A must-wach video special by The Hill’s Capitol Hill team: The Jan. 6 attack: Reporting, and running from terror. Although much of today’s attention will be focused on the past year, debate continued in the Senate on Wednesday on election reform, with Republicans slightly opening the door to possible legislative alterations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Politico that he would be open to potential changes to the Electoral Count Act, an 1887 law that allows members of Congress to dispute election results and opened the door to challenges from lawmakers on Trump’s behalf last year. “It obviously has some flaws. And it is worth, I think, discussing,” McConnell said on Wednesday. However, the possibility was panned by the White House and Senate Democrats, who are holding out for more sweeping reforms to elections and voting rights, including an unlikely carveout to the legislative filibuster in the upper chamber to deal with the issues (Punchbowl News). Jordain Carney, The Hill: Lawmakers discuss changes to Electoral Count Act after Jan. 6. The New York Times: Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to speak Tuesday in Atlanta to promote stalled voting rights legislation. Georgia is key for Democrats in the midterms and in 2024. 
© Associated Press/John Minchillo Here’s what else we’re watching in Congress: The Democratic agenda is in limbo and showing very few signs of life as lawmakers attempt to bounce back from a stretch that saw the Build Back Better agenda put on a gurney last month and COVID-19 continue to present issues for the party. As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton notes, the other big accomplishment by Senate Democrats — the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act — is stuck in the House, giving them limited options to “put points on the board,” which they argued was their way back politically after their poor electoral showing in November. Adding to the problems, there are also concerns over whether appropriations bills can be cobbled together to comprise a viable omnibus package by the Feb. 18 deadline. The Hill: Climate advocates hopeful after Manchin spending comments. The Hill: U.S. lawmakers weigh new COVID-19 stimulus funding for businesses. | 
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