Congress has taken a big step towards launching its own investigation of the January 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
The House voted Wednesday to establish a commission to investigate the facts and influencing factors, and 35 House Republicans voted in favor.
There is plenty of historic precedent for bipartisan congressional investigations into violent attacks on the United States, but to some lawmakers, this example isn’t as clear-cut as the others.
Initial bi-partisan support has now eroded, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy saying earlier this week, he wouldn’t support it unless Democrats agreed to broaden the scope.
On the left, Democrats like Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are still stoking the heated rhetoric with phrases like “violent insurrection” and “attack on the citadel of our democracy”.
On the right, McCarthy said you can’t view January 6th as an isolated event, ignoring an entire year of violent leftist rioting around the country. “What about all the riots that have led up throughout the summer, the unrest from BLM, Antifa, and others,” he said.
And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition, citing other investigations already underway, and criticizing what he calls the partisan way Democrats have handled this proposal.
“From initially offering a laughably partisan starting point, to continuing to insist on various other features under the hood that are designed to centralize control over the commission’s process and its conclusions in Democratic hands,” he explained.
Democrats claim Republicans want to avoid the truth about what happened on January 6th.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hurled numerous accusations at Republicans saying, “Once again they are caving to Donald Trump and proving that the Republican Party is still drunk off the big lie.”
While it passed in the Democrat-controlled House, the measure’s path forward remains uncertain in the Senate, where Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to pass the legislation, and Schumer’s insults may not help secure those 10 GOP votes.
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