The US House has passed a bipartisan plan to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, despite significant opposition from Republican lawmakers.
The vote was 252-175, with 35 Republicans joining all Democrats.
The vote came the same day that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition to the commission, dealing a setback to the proposal’s chances in the U.S. Senate.
Just a day ago, McConnell signaled the party was open to the commission to investigate the January riot by supporters of former President Donald Trump but added he wanted “to read the fine print.” That openness was short-lived.
“After careful consideration, I’ve made a decision to oppose the House Democrats’ slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of Jan. 6,” he said Wednesday on the Senate floor, reported the media. His opposition, which he shared the morning after Trump urged Republicans to oppose the bill, complicates the commission’s fate in the evenly divided Senate. The bill needs 10 GOP senators to vote with all Democrats ultimately to become law.
On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out against the legislation even though a deal on the commission was reached last week by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the panel’s ranking Republican, Rep. John Katko of New York. McCarthy had charged Katko with reaching a deal on the panel.
Ahead of the vote Wednesday, Katko spoke passionately in support of the commission.
“To my friends on both sides of the aisle – I welcome honest, vigorous, and civil debate. At the end of the day, I strongly believe this is a fair and necessary legislation,” he said on the House floor. “I encourage all members, Republicans and Democrats alike, to put down their swords for once, just for once, and support this bill.”
He underscored that he and Thompson crafted the bill in a way to ensure it is “depoliticized entirely.”
“There is an equal number of members on both sides, appointed by both sides, they have equal subpoena power – they can’t subpoena one person without the other person on the other side of the aisle agreeing, they have to hire a staff together, all those things,” he said. “We did this for a reason, because that’s exactly what made the 9/11 commission successful.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D.Y., lamented Republican opposition to the panel, saying Wednesday that “both sides” negotiated on the commission for months.
“At the 11th hour, the House Republican leadership turned tail, threw its own negotiators under the bus and decided to try to sabotage the commission,” he said on the Senate floor. “Once again, they are caving to Donald Trump and proving that the Republican Party is still drunk off the big lie.”
Schumer said he plans to bring the measure to the floor after its House passage despite McConnell’s opposition.
In his remarks Wednesday, McConnell pointed to ongoing law enforcement investigations that have resulted in hundreds of arrests as well as bipartisan investigations into the events of Jan. 6. He said a commission would result in duplicative efforts.
