Source: Kevin Dietsch / Getty
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Wednesday that he won’t support legislation to create an independent commission to probe the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“After careful consideration, I’ve made the decision to oppose the House Democrats slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of Jan. 6,” McConnell said from the Senate floor.
McConnell’s speech comes hours after meeting with Senate Republicans early Wednesday morning.
The Minority Leader has tried to rally other GOP members behind his efforts to block any commission from becoming law. The bill, which was passed over by the House, would need the support of a majority in the chamber before heading to President Biden’s desk. Although, that could be unlikely at this point.
McConnell told reporters Tuesday he was “willing to listen” and “undecided” on whether he would support any commission related to the attack. But after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) came out strongly opposed to the measure, so did McConnell.
Even former President Donald Trump, who has been blamed for his actions that led up to thousands of his supporters storming the Capitol, said the commission bill was a “Democratic trap” for the GOP.
“Republicans must get much tougher and much smarter, and stop being used by the Radical Left,” Trump said via an email statement. “Hopefully, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening!”
McConnell also insisted any commission would contradict the effort of the Justice Department and Senate committees, who’ve been investigating the violent riot for months. “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,” he said.
GOP leaders have expressed concerns about limiting the scope of the current investigations by government officials and how an independent commission would play into those efforts. As it stands right now, McConnell and others in the Republican party have downplayed the severity of the attack on the Capitol and don’t see a need for a bipartisan probe.
But Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) vows to bring the bill to a vote in the Senate.
“Shame on them for defending the mob over our Capitol Police officers. And shame on the House Republican leadership for punishing Republicans who tell the truth,” Schumer said Wednesday on the Senate Floor. “Here in the Senate we will have a vote. The only way to stop these lies is to respond with the truth, with facts, with an honest, objective investigation on what happened that day.”
