White House: ‘Incredibly disappointing’ to see GOP oppose Jan. 6 commission

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday called Republican opposition to a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol “incredibly disappointing” a day after the House passed a bill with limited GOP support.

“The attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 was an unprecedented assault on our democracy,” Psaki said at a press briefing. “It demands a full and independent investigation into what happened. This is not a political issue in the president’s view, this is a question of how we secure our democracy and the rule of law. So it’s incredibly disappointing to see how many representatives have opted to turn this into a political issue instead of doing what’s right.” 

Psaki would not weigh in on whether the White House would support moving forward on some type of investigation with only Democratic support.

The House approved the Jan. 6 commission legislation in a 252-175 vote on Wednesday, which included the support of 35 GOP lawmakers.

But the bill faces an unlikely path in the Senate, where Republicans are increasingly turning against the commission as they try to move past the Jan. 6 attack and focus on the 2022 midterm elections.

Even some senators who voted to convict former President Trump for inciting the violence on Jan. 6 have indicated they are opposed to or ambivalent about the commission, including Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday finished the fast-track process for bringing the commission up for a vote in the Senate