Republicans tread carefully after Jan. 6 subpoenas

House Republicans are treading carefully in their initial reactions after the special committee investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol took the remarkable step of issuing subpoenas for their cooperation.

The GOP lawmakers have been defiant in their approach to the bipartisan investigation, labeling it an illegitimate partisan witch-hunt in which they’ve refused to cooperate. But with the arrival of Thursday’s subpoenas, not even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would say he’d reject the entreaty outright.