Listen to this article

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted to approve legislation to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the 6^th January attack on the US Capitol. The legislation also faced growing opposition from Republicans who object to the proposed structure and scope of the panel. The bill was negotiated in part by a GOP congressman and passed by a vote of 252 to 175 with all Democrats and 35 Republicans voting in favor. However, the bill would face an uphill battle in the Senate and it is unclear whether it will receive enough Republican support to advance. Republican Congressman John Katko was heavily involved in formulating the deal, which made 2 significant concessions to Republicans: the panel would be evenly divided between members appointed by Democrats and Republicans, and the GOP-appointed commissioners would have veto power over any subpoena.

Moreover, Katko defended the bill in a speech ahead of the vote. He said that an independent, 9/11 style review is critical to removing the politics surrounding the events of 6^th January. He also urged his colleagues on both sides to set aside politics just this once to support the bill. Katko said, “This is about facts. It’s not partisan politics. We would have never gotten to this point if it was about partisan politics”. Point to be noted that Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson and Katko are respectively the chair and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. They reached a deal late last week on legislation to create a bipartisan panel to investigate the assault by a violent mob of Trump supporters. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition to the bill.

It is noteworthy that bills require 60 votes to advance in the Senate, which is evenly divided. The legislation would die in the upper chamber unless 10 Republicans agree to support the creation of a commission. McConnell said, “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 January 6”. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also announced his opposition to the bill and Minority Whip Steve Scalise sent a memo urging Republican members to vote against it. However, the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus voted to endorse the bill late Tuesday. It clearly indicated that some Republicans will be willing to break with GOP leadership to support the legislation.