--- title: Congress Remains Divided After Deadly Capitol Attack description: The attack on the Capitol has left Congress even more bitterly divided. canonical: https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/ author: Lissandra Villa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-01-20T04:12:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:36:51.743Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congress Remains Divided After Deadly Capitol Attack og:description: The attack on the Capitol has left Congress even more bitterly divided. og:url: https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a60d0d768329fcb/698a161ddb2987fd21266357/washington-capitol-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: US Capitol Security og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congress Remains Divided After Deadly Capitol Attack twitter:description: The attack on the Capitol has left Congress even more bitterly divided. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a60d0d768329fcb/698a161ddb2987fd21266357/washington-capitol-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congress Remains as Divided as Ever After Deadly Capitol Attack > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a7cef659-6d8c-4824-8671-9cd732439a81&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a7cef659-6d8c-4824-8671-9cd732439a81&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=a7cef659-6d8c-4824-8671-9cd732439a81&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a7cef659-6d8c-4824-8671-9cd732439a81&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Jan 20, 2021 4:12 AM UTC  A metal detector stands in front of the House chamber after the vote on articles of impeachment at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan.13, 2020. A metal detector stands in front of the House chamber after the vote on articles of impeachment at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan.13, 2020. Gabriella Demczuk for TIME  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Jan 20, 2021 4:12 AM UTC Americans and their representatives in Congress might have found an opportunity to come together after a deadly mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, threatening lives and upending the prospect for a peaceful transfer of power this week. But even while [polling shows](https://www.vox.com/2021/1/16/22234704/poll-republicans-trump-capitol-riot-blame) most Americans condemn the attack, the divided nation can’t agree on much else about it, including who should be held responsible. Nor, it seems, can their representatives on Capitol Hill. As the new Congress kicks off with narrowly divided chambers, Republicans and Democrats are starkly divided on how to navigate the aftermath of the worst attack on the Capitol since the Burning of Washington in 1814\. Democrats want to see Republicans held accountable on the safety of their workplace, from wearing masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to getting answers on whether some Republican lawmakers were in league with the mob. Republicans have lashed out at additional security measures like metal detectors introduced in the House, and accused Democrats in bad faith of contributing to the ingrained partisanship with their heated rhetoric. Congress was designed to represent America — and it is doing just that. Rather than rallying together in response to the attack, lawmakers are as deeply riven by recriminations as their constituents. Some members of the Republican party are choosing to cling to the alternate and baseless reality that the result of the presidential election was in question, rather than taking responsibility for enabling him for the last four years. Anyone who thought a crisis of this scale might tip a split legislature into banding together appears to have been wrong. And while political scientists say a lot of this has to do with members posturing for their bases, it also has something to do with the lawmakers involved, and their personalities. “If they don’t get along now when the institution of Congress has been attacked, they’re not going to get along in the future,” says Randall Adkins, professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As Trump prepares to leave the White House on Wednesday, there are signs some Republican leaders are now distancing themselves from the outgoing President. “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said from the Senate floor on Tuesday, publicly acknowledging for the first time the role the President played in the attack. And while the House vote to impeach Trump for his role inciting the deadly riot was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history, the number of House Republicans who voted with Democrats— 10— comes to less than 5% of the Republican House conference. In recent days, some Democrats have accused their Republican colleagues of potentially aiding attackers. Rep. Mikie Sherrill said she saw Republican lawmakers giving “[reconnaissance](https://www.facebook.com/RepMikieSherrill/videos/2316754338448152)” tours the day before the attack, though she and other Democrats who [asked for](https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/12/mikie-sherrill-capitol-hill-attack-458655) an investigation from the[ Sergeant at Arms and U.S. Capitol Police](https://twitter.com/RepSherrill/status/1349439821060702215?s=20) haven’t said who. Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Eric Swalwell[ criticized](https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/1348846469768351744?s=20) Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert for revealing on Twitter that the “Speaker has been removed from the chambers.” (Republican [lawmakers](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/533754-gop-lawmakers-told-trump-takes-some-responsibility-for-capitol-riot) also reportedly expressed concerns about Boebert’s actions.) New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on members like Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley to resign — and[ if they refused, to be expelled](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1347236707138211845?s=20) — for their role in sowing doubt over the presidential election results. Democrats have also lashed out at some Republicans for refusing to wear masks while they waited out the attack on Jan. 6\. “They don’t have the right to make life dangerous or make us vulnerable because of their insensitivity and arrogance,” says New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a 75-year-old cancer survivor. She was in the same secure location shown in the video published[ by Punchbowl News](https://twitter.com/PunchbowlNews/status/1347604167355936772?s=20) that shows a small group of Republican lawmakers turning down masks when Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester was handing them out. (TIME reached out to the offices of the lawmakers who refused the masks in the video for comment. Only Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s office responded, arguing that media coverage had unfairly targeted Republicans in regard to COVID-19 safety.) “There are some (Republican lawmakers) I believe are irredeemable. They really are trying to overthrow the government, and I will not be working with them,” says Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, one of the lawmakers who locked down with his colleagues during the attack, including Republicans who refused to wear a mask. He later tested positive for COVID-19\. “I’m not closing the door. But before I re-engage with some of these members who I believe have crossed over the line, there has to be a discussion.” Republican House leadership has been largely quiet on these incidents. But some individual lawmakers have pushed back against Democrats’ accusations. In a statement to TIME regarding her tweet about Pelosi, Boebert said: “Some partisan officials and press have chosen to mischaracterize several of my tweets. Let me be clear: I do not support unlawful acts of violence and support the rule of law. Furthermore, my tweets came after both events referenced occurred and I never disclosed secure locations.” As new safety precautions have been put in place inside the Capitol, including metal detectors for members entering the House chamber and a broadening of the mask mandate, Democrats have sought to enforce them by introducing fines for those who refuse to comply. Several Republican members bristled at the suggestion that House members themselves were a threat, and stepped around them, according to [NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-protest-circumvent-new-metal-detectors-inside-capitol-after-riot-n1254011) and[ HuffPost](https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/1349157235843358720?s=20). “We now have to go through intense security measures, on top of the security we already go through. These new provisions include searches and being wanded like criminals,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/RepDLesko/status/1349153861865496577?s=20) Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko. “We now live in Pelosi’s communist America!” Some Republicans say the security measures go too far, with Whip Steve Scalise, one of the highest-ranking Republicans in the House, [telling CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/politics/house-democrats-safety-worries/index.html) that the metal detectors in particular are “untenable.” Another Republican lawmaker [referred](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/13/republican-lawmakers-house-metal-detectors/) to the magnetometers as “atrocities,” according to the Washington Post. Republican Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, says he doesn’t believe there is a credible threat inside the Capitol and thinks stationing officers to oversee the metal detectors drains resources from the outside perimeter. He argues that installing them was political theater. “The Republican party is the party that believes in law and order. We love our Capitol Police officers, we thank them every day,” says Davis, who was also present during the horrific 2017 shooting at a [GOP baseball](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katenocera/baseball-shooting) practice. “We will always comply with what our Capitol Police officers want.” He dismissed a follow-up question about GOP members sidestepping the metal detectors. While the parties remain divided, they do at least share this: external threats to their safety. Rep. Lou Correa, a Democrat, and Sens. Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham, who are Republicans, have all been harassed at airports in recent days. Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan, one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last week for his role in inciting the mob, [told MSNBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI4BXFnxxdU) that he’s one of several lawmakers who has bought body armor as a precaution. South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who has spoken publicly about the role that conspiracy theorists played in the events of Jan. 6, says that while it’s important for Republicans to attend President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration this week, she personally has decided to skip it because she thinks it’s too risky. Asked to describe the atmosphere on the Hill following the attack, Mace was quick to respond. “Divided,” she says. “Very divided.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/"},"headline":"Congress Remains as Divided as Ever After Deadly Capitol Attack","datePublished":"2021-01-20T04:12:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:36:51.743Z","description":"The attack on the Capitol has left Congress even more bitterly divided.","url":"https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/","keywords":["National Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a60d0d768329fcb/698a161ddb2987fd21266357/washington-capitol-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lissandra Villa","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a60d0d768329fcb/698a161ddb2987fd21266357/washington-capitol-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US Capitol Security","caption":"A metal detector stands in front of the House chamber after the vote on articles of impeachment at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan.13, 2020.","creditText":"Gabriella Demczuk for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5930372/congress-attack-divided/","name":"Congress Remains as Divided as Ever After Deadly Capitol Attack"}}]}] ```