Schumer vows Senate vote on Jan. 6 commission

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is vowing the Senate will vote on legislation to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, despite signs that Republicans will broadly oppose the proposal.

Schumer on Tuesday criticized what he called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) “eleventh-hour opposition” to setting up a bipartisan commission.

“It shows how difficult it is to negotiate with Republicans if the Republican leaders are just going to throw their lead negotiators under the bus,” Schumer said of McCarthy’s statement of opposition to the commission, which undercut Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Katko and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) introduced legislation Friday to set up a 10 member commission to deliver a report by Dec. 31.

“Why do they even participate in negotiations at all?” Schumer grumbled.

The Democratic leader pledged to move forward with the bill once it passes the House, even if it has scant Republican support.

“We’ll see what the House vote is like but I want to be clear: I will put the Jan. 6 commission legislation on the floor of the Senate for a vote. Period,” he said.

“Republicans can let their constituents know: Are they on the side of truth or do they want to cover up for the insurrectionists and for Donald Trump?” he added.

Schumer said McCarthy’s objections to setting up the commission “is a bogus way to avoid focusing on what really happened on Jan. 6.”