Democrats hold hearing to examine impact of January 6, while protesters commemorate attack on Capitol grounds

Congressional Republicans were largely silent on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Tuesday, even as Democrats sought to use the occasion to condemn Donald Trump and a small group of protesters convened on the grounds of the US Capitol in solidarity with those who carried out the attack.

Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress after fruitlessly hoping that the well-documented violence would cause voters to reject Trump for good, seized on the anniversary to decry the president as a threat to democracy, and accuse Republicans of acting as his accomplices.

Speaker says Trump not looking to take control militarily as Democrats say briefing raises more questions than answers

The United States is “not at war” in Venezuela, the Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Monday, despite the weekend raid Donald Trump ordered to capture president Nicolás Maduro and announcement that the US would now “run” the country.

The surprise incursion came after months of mounting US pressure on Venezuela, which has included a blockade of some oil shipments and airstrikes on vessels off its shores that have killed at least 110 people.