Sen. Klobuchar leads committee in continued focus on Capitol Police

Almost a year to the day after a mob of Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar had a crucial question for the Capitol Police chief.

"Do you believe that the department would be better able to defend against the type of threat that we saw a year ago today than the department was back then?" Klobuchar asked.

"Yes, absolutely," answered Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.

The Klobuchar-led Senate Rules Committee held its latest hearing last week focused on the Capitol Police in the aftermath of the attack last year that shook the nation.

"We owe it to the Capitol Police officers who defend the Capitol every day to make sure that they have the resources and support they need to do their jobs," Klobuchar said during the hearing.

The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection continues to be a difficult topic on Capitol Hill. While Democrats stand by a deeper House-led investigation into the attack, Republicans have largely avoided focusing on what influenced the siege after decrying the violence. Even after the mob of then-President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in the wake of his falsehoods about a rigged election, Trump continues to make false comments about the 2020 presidential race as some in the GOP downplay the severity of the Capitol attack.

"Many of us remember that insurrection for what it was: an attack on our democracy," Klobuchar said Wednesday. "But it was also, as we'll talk about today, a brutal and prolonged physical attack for the law enforcement officers who risked their lives to defend the Capitol that day."

"The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a tragic day for our country," Blunt said during last week's hearing. "Everyone who took part in that attack should be prosecuted based on their actions and plans."

But even Republicans who denounced the attack have largely avoided going as far as their Democratic colleagues. A stark partisan divide on voting rights legislation in the fallout of Trump's election falsehoods also remains clear on Capitol Hill.

Along with improvements that have come in response to the attack, Manger told Klobuchar's committee about major challenges that remain. There are staffing problems, and Manger said the department is essentially 447 officers "short of where we need to be." Over the last year, 153 officers have resigned or retired, Manger testified, and he's hoping to hire 280 police officers every year over the next three years to contend with attrition.