Republicans block January 6 commission bill
Republicans block January 6 commission bill
Senate delays final action on innovation bill
Republicans have used the filibuster to block a commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The Senate won’t vote on a major innovation bill until June. And what’s next on the January 6 attack? This is a special edition of “Regular Order.”
CAPITOL ATTACK. In the first filibuster of 2021, Senate Republicans blocked the start of debate on a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The Senate vote was 54-35, with 60 votes needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.
GOP SIX. A half dozen Republican Senators voted against the filibuster: Collins of Maine, Cassidy of Louisiana, Romney of Utah, Sasse of Nebraska, Portman of Ohio, and Murkowski of Alaska. Four more GOP votes were needed.
ABSENT. Eleven Senators missed the vote. Nine were Republicans: Blackburn TN, Blunt MO, Braun IN, Burr NC, Inhofe NC, Risch ID, Rounds SD, Shelby AL, and Toomey PA. Two Democrats missed the vote: Sinema of Arizona and Murray of Washington State.
THREE SHORT. Murray, Sinema, and Toomey all indicated they would have voted to break the filibuster, meaning Democrats were three votes short. “History will remember those who put country ahead of politics,” said Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
REACTION. Democrats were furious. "Donald Trump’s Big Lie is now the defining principle of what was once the party of Lincoln," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. "This was despicable," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
SENATE DEMS. "History will not look kindly on today’s vote," said Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE). "Disgusted," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). “The votes against the January 6th commission are votes against finding the truth,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
FILIBUSTER. The vote also rekindled calls among Democrats to do away with the filibuster in the Senate. "The filibuster is anti-democratic and should be thrown onto the trash heap of history," said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). " If we want to protect our democracy, we must end the filibuster," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). But Democrats don’t have the votes to make those changes.
REPUBLICANS. No GOP Senators spoke on the Senate floor against the commission. Even though the panel would be divided evenly between the parties - just like the 9/11 Commission - Republicans keep saying it’s tilted against the GOP.
GOP. "Senator Schumer forced a political messaging vote," said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who said House and Senate committees can do any investigation of the attack. “Adding a new commission to this mix would inevitably delay and distract from the productive investigations already underway,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS).
MANCHIN. Those kinds of statements did not sit well with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who tried hard to convince GOP Senators that a commission should be worth their support.
WHAT’S NEXT? There were no official announcements from House Democrats, but it seemed like there were hints in their statements. “Honoring our responsibility to the Congress in which we serve and the Country which we love, Democrats will proceed to find the truth,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
ATTACK PANEL. Some Democrats have talked about setting up a special panel - a ‘Select Committee’ in the House - just like the committee that investigated Benghazi when the GOP was in charge.
PELOSI. Speaker Pelosi not only has the power to appoint Democrats for a select committee - but could also appoint the Republicans on that panel as well. Yes, that’s in the House Rules - Rule I, Clause 11. Stay tuned.
INNOVATION BILL. While the Senate held a vote about the January 6 commission on Friday, Senators did not finish work on a bipartisan innovation bill, which had kept the Senate in session until nearly 3 am. Instead, Senators agreed to hold the final few votes on that measure on June 8, after a Memorial Day break.
JUNE SCHEDULE. Majority Leader Schumer also announced that the Senate will try to work on S.1 - a sweeping election reform bill - in late June. But that measure is likely to suffer the same fate as the January 6 commission legislation - death by GOP filibuster.
MUSE OF HISTORY. May 28, 2003. On this date, President George W. Bush signed a major jobs and tax package into law, what's known as the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. (You might notice the word 'Reconciliation,' which indicates this package of tax and budget changes was approved by the GOP Congress using special budget rules which did not allow for a filibuster in the U.S. Senate.) Only 7 House Democrats supported the package, and just 2 Democratic Senators. Most people have long forgotten that this tax cut package was approved with the vote of Vice President Dick Cheney, breaking a 50/50 tie in the Senate on a 10-year, $3.5 trillion dollar package.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes the week of June 14.
The Senate returns on June 7 for votes.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
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