Support for Speaker Pelosi's select Jan. 6 committee waning after first hearing, poll

A poll released this week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s first special Jan. 6 committee hearing indicates Americans’ waning interest in the probe.  

The Morning Consult poll polls released Thursday found 53% of all respondents now support the investigation, down from 66% in the survey in June and 58% just a week ago.

The findings follow testimony Tuesday by four police officers on duty during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Their emotional testimony about efforts to keep protestors out of the building resulted in tearful responses from at least two members of the 9-member committee.  

The poll also found four out of five Democrats are now in favor of the probe, compared to about a quarter for Republicans and half for independents.

Just 49 percent of respondents said they had watched all or even part of the 3.5 hour hearing.

Pelosi formed the committee and appointed all of the members – including GOP Reps. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois – after failing to get congressional support for an independent, 9/11-type committee. Pelosi’s committee could call members for former President Trump’s inner circle to testify.

The new survey found the number of voters who blame Trump for the breach fell to 56% from 61% in June. It also appears to show a downward trend in support for the probe, considering CBS News and Rasmussen reporting declining interest in the investigation just days before the first hearing, according to The New York Post.