House passes bill to create commission to investigate Jan. 6 attack on Capitol
Source: Washington Post
Republican leaders are trying to sink legislation establishing an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that would likely scrutinize former president Donald Trump’s role in the riot and his conversations with Republican lawmakers that day. The bill passed the House on a 252 to 175 vote Wednesday with 35 Republicans supporting the measure, but it’s chances of clearing the Senate greatly dimmed after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) came out against the bill earlier in the day.
He said he opposes the legislation because it is a “slanted and unbalanced proposal” a day after he said his members were open to voting for the plan but needed a chance to read the “fine print.” In between those comments, Trump released a statement Tuesday evening slamming the bill and decrying it as a “Democrat trap” while urging McConnell and other GOP leaders to start “listening.” “It’s not at all clear what new facts or additional investigation yet another commission could actually lay on top of existing efforts by law enforcement and Congress,” McConnell said on the floor Wednesday.
Several questions remain about the attack, however, including to what degree it was coordinated as well as details about what Trump was doing while it was taking place. The attempts to undermine support for the commission by McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are the latest evidence of the party’s continued loyalty to Trump and the fear among its leaders that crossing him will imperil their positions and the GOP’s efforts to win back both houses of Congress next year.
While McConnell and McCarthy both slammed the deal as partisan and duplicative, despite it being struck between the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee, other Republicans were more direct about their concerns that the commission’s work would be politically problematic for the party. “Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 election, I think, is a day lost on being able to draw contrast between us and the Democrats’ very radical left wing agenda,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the majority whip. The number of House Republicans that supported the bill, however, showed some members of the party believe the investigation is needed even if most viewed it as a political non-starter.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mcconnell-comes-out-against-jan-6-commission-imperiling-its-chances-of-becoming-law/2021/05/19/60de1f52-b8b3-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html
Full headline: House passes bill to create commission to investigate Jan. 6 attack on Capitol, but its chances in the Senate are dim
I'm actually shocked how many Republicans did actually vote for this in the House.
Obviously swing seat ones.
= new reply since forum marked as read
...needs the Commission to help lend agreement to circumstances and facts...
...if not, the continuing 'he said, she said' bullshit will further sweep the 'big picture' under our political carpet while bolstering the trumpers...
...I think it's so important to our country moving forward that we should consider ending the filibuster to get it passed...
...IMO, the fact that trump doesn't want it speaks volumes...
