The United States Congress is poised to hold a crucial and contentious vote that could upset Donald Trump, and the tension is palpable. Republicans in the United States are poised to block the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol riot, despite a last-minute plea from the mother of a Capitol Police officer who lost his life. Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation to establish the commission to investigate the attack on the Capitol on January 6 and the events surrounding it.
The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate, however.
The chamber is split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans, and Vice President Kamala Harris has the tiebreaking vote. That requires 60 votes, meaning at least 10 Republicans must support it. But a simple majority is not enough to advance the legislation.
Most Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are opposed. Ust three Republican senators have indicated they will support the bill: Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. Several others have said they are considering it. Chuck Schumer has scheduled a procedural vote for later today.
Gladys Sicknick, whose son Brian collapsed after clashing with rioters and died the next day, was in Washington D.C. today personally lobbying Republicans to support the commission.
Mr. Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer, suffered two strokes which caused his death.
“I suggest that all congressmen and senators who are against this bill visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward,” Mrs. Sicknick told the media.
“Not having a January 6 commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day. “Putting politics aside, wouldn’t they want to know the truth of what happened? If not, they do not deserve to have the jobs they were elected to do.”
Mrs. Sicknick said she was in D.C. because she “just couldn’t stay quiet anymore”.
She was joined by her son’s longtime girlfriend, Sandra Garza, and two of his colleagues, officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone. Mr. Fanone was brutally assaulted by the rioters on January 6 and suffered a heart attack. He has previously described the confrontation as “the most brutal, savage hand-to-hand combat” he’s ever experienced.
Several senators agreed to meet with the group. But Mrs. Sicknick’s pleas are unlikely to overcome the influence of two other people: Mr. McConnell and former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump, whose actions would be scrutinized by the commission, has called it a “Democrat trap” and urged Republicans to oppose it.
You can understand why. His supporters were attempting to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory. The crowd that attacked the Capitol did so in Mr. Trump’s name because it believed his false claims about last year’s election were “stolen” from him.
We still know very little about Mr. Trump’s actions during the riot. In his impeachment trial earlier this year, his legal team claimed he took “immediate steps” to quell the violence but offered no details.
Mr. Trump’s Department of Defence took hours to approve a request for help from the National Guard, and troops did not arrive at the Capitol until after 5 pm. The commission could subpoena witnesses and develop a complete account of Mr. Trump’s response to the violence. It is in his interest to prevent that from happening. Why, though, is Mr. McConnell opposing the commission? He explained his reasoning on the floor of the Senate earlier today. “I do not believe the additional, extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing. Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed to do that,” said Mr. McConnell.
There’s no new fact about that day we need the Democrats’ extraneous commission to uncover.
“The former president’s role has already been litigated exhaustively in the high-profile impeachment trial several months ago. Connell pointed to the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation and the hundreds of criminal cases being brought against individual rioters.
Of co, he argues that the commission would be redundant. Urse, there are also political considerations here. If a commission is established, it will keep the events of January 6 in the news, which could hurt the Republicans’ chances of taking back the House and Senate in next year’s midterm elections. According to CNN, the Minority Leader has been lobbying his members to vote against the legislation “as a personal favor”.
