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McConnell Says Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Commission is ‘Slanted and Unbalanced’
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced that he opposes a new bipartisan commission that would investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He believes the congressional and criminal investigations that are currently in place would suffice.
According to McConnell, the current investigations will suffice. He added that it is unclear what new facts or probes a new commission can bring that would be different from the existing efforts by the police and Congress.
The House is expected to vote on Wednesday on the creation of a new commission that would investigate the Jan. 6 riots. If approved, the panel would follow the model that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the Homeland Security Committee Chair, and John Katko (R-N.Y.), a ranking member, authored the proposal.
The said agreement for a new commission managed to meet one major demand by the Republicans. This is the inclusion of an equal number of members from each party and the requirement of a majority approval of subpoenas. However, it did not meet another condition, which is the investigation of other political riots.
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) released a statement, saying that he cannot support the said proposal due to misdirection that slowed down the process as well as the redundancy and the possible counterproductivity of this measure.
While many expect the House to pass this proposal, it remains unclear how many Republican members would join McConnell in going against the formation of a new commission when it goes to the Senate.
McConnell said he believes the Democrats have made the proposal unbalanced and partisan. Additionally, he instead stated that he supports the investigations that are already underway.
If approved, however, the new panel would be made up of 10 people from both parties. The Democrats would appoint five, and Republicans would appoint the other five. The said commission would also have the power to subpoena in carrying out the probe. However, a bipartisan agreement is needed before it can be approved.
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