The commission will call Donald Trump to testify on January 6

(CNN) — On January 6, 2021, the House Select Committee investigating the attack on the US capital has voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump to produce documents and testimony during Thursday’s public hearing.

The panel’s decision to set up a showdown with the former president is a significant expansion.

Trump is not expected to comply with the subpoena, but the move is a way for the commission to set a precedent and show that the panel wants information directly from Trump as it investigates the attack. A vote was held at the end of the hearing on Thursday.

The subpoena is sure to set off a protracted court battle over Trump’s potential compliance, which will outlast the panel itself. Republicans have vowed to shut down the Democratic-led panel if they regain a majority in the House of Representatives in next month’s midterm elections.

Trump previously derided the group as a “commission of unelected political thugs and hackers” and said its members were “evil, bad and unpatriotic.” He also complained of “biased kangaroo court” procedures that “did not allow any genuine Republican party member to appear or be interviewed during any procedure, cross-examination and witnessing”.

Early in the hearing, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, announced that Thursday’s public hearing had been changed to a business meeting, a technical distinction but allowing the committee to vote on hearing proceedings.

NBC first reported on the project.

Thursday’s hearing is expected to be the last before the midterm elections.