Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speak to Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Georgia election worker, on June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The January 6 committee on Tuesday canceled its upcoming Wednesday hearing.
The panel cited Hurricane Ian, which is set to hit Florida on Wednesday, as reason for the delay.
“We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path,” lawmakers on the panel said in a statement.
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack postponed its upcoming hearing in light of Hurricane Ian’s growing danger.
Chairman Bennie G Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney released a Tuesday statement announcing that the panel’s next public hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, will be postponed.
“In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s proceedings,” the lawmakers said. “We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path. The Select Committee’s investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings.”
The committee did not say when the rescheduled hearing would take place. It was set to be the ninth televised hearing the committee has held thus far and the first one back after the panel took a summer hiatus.
The storm made landfall in Cuba on Tuesday morning as a Category 3 major hurricane and is expected to pummel Florida beginning on Wednesday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center have predicted “life-threatening” storm surge along Florida’s west coast, with the highest risk area being from Fort Meyers to the Tampa Bay region. Storm surge is often more damaging and deadly than a hurricane’s strong winds.
“This is a near worst-case approach angle coming in from the south and west and stalling,” Jamie Rhome, the National Hurricane Center acting director, told CNN. “With it slowing down, this would be a near-worst case approach angle.”