A group of House Republicans is pressing congressional leaders to create a select committee to investigate what they call “the radical left’s assault on America and the rule of law,” citing the assassination of Charlie Kirk as the latest evidence of mounting political violence.
In a Sept. 11 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and the chairs of the Judiciary and Oversight committees, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and more than a dozen colleagues urged the formation of a panel to probe the “money, influence, and power” behind the alleged assault on American institutions.
They asked that the select committee be staffed with members and aides who have prosecutorial or law enforcement backgrounds “to deliver results” and armed with full subpoena powers to trace the funding networks of nongovernmental organizations (NGO), donors, media outlets, and public officials.
“The patterns are undeniable: we are witnessing a sustained breakdown of law and order, fueled not by chance, but by anti-American ideology,” the lawmakers wrote. “We must take every step to follow the money and uncover the force behind the NGOs, donors, media, public officials, and all entities driving this coordinated attack.”
The appeal came a day after Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley State University. The lawmakers noted that Kirk had been placed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map” three months earlier.
Other violent episodes cited in the letter included the 2017 shooting of Republican lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice, the 2024 assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, the Family Research Council shooting, Antifa riots, and crimes by illegal immigrants released into the United States.
“The coordinated lawlessness and disorder are perhaps most apparent in the forces behind the opening of our borders to release untold numbers of illegal aliens, including dangerous actors who’ve victimized law-abiding Americans,“ they wrote, citing a ”deliberately wide-open border, funded by cash“ given by United Nations-linked NGO’s that have ”facilitated the invasion of our borders.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), one of the signatories, underscored the call in a social media post. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of the money and power driving these radical assaults on America,” he wrote on X. “Enough is enough.”
After the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, I signed on with @chiproytx and several of my colleagues calling for a Select Committee.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) September 12, 2025
We’ve got to get to the bottom of the money and power driving these radical assaults on America. Enough is enough. https://t.co/fHSKWFO1LC
Kirk’s assassination, described by some as the highest-profile political killing in the United States in nearly six decades, has drawn condemnation across the political spectrum and around the world.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, called it a direct threat to democracy and free expression.
“It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals,” Cox said at a Sept. 12 press conference. He added that violence aimed at silencing speech endangers the country’s basic identity and seeks to dampen its spirit.
Kirk’s killing has also sharpened long-standing fears that the country may be entering a new era of political violence. Legal scholars told The Epoch Times that the Sept. 10 shooting could mark a tipping point, one that either prompts leaders to cool partisan tensions or drives the nation deeper into polarization.
Susan MacManus, a veteran Florida political analyst, said the tragedy could be a catalyst for change—if lawmakers use it to recommit to civility.
“But is it going to be a catalyst for the two parties coming together and saying, ‘Enough of this?’” she asked. “Or is it just going to be a catalyst for even further deepening the polarization in this country?”
Jeff Bloodworth, a professor of American political history at Pennsylvania’s Gannon University, said the United States has endured “many, many moments of political violence,” but Kirk’s slaying adds “another sad chapter in a ‘book’ that nobody wants to read.”
Against this backdrop, the Republican letter calls for a probe that would identify the forces that sow division, perpetrate “coordinated anti-American assaults against” the American people, and “take all steps under the law necessary to stop them.”
Janice Hisle and Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this report.
By Tom Ozimek
