Schumer vows to put January 6 commission legislation for US Senate vote

Washington [US] May 19, (ANI): US Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said the Senate will vote on legislation to establish a commission to probe the January 6 attack on the Capitol, despite signs that Republicans will broadly oppose the proposal.
On January 6, a group of supporters of Trump entered the Capitol to protest lawmakers accepting electoral college votes from US states that Trump has claimed were illegal and robbed him of election victory. Congress' work to verify President Biden's victory was interrupted for several hours during the incident.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson introduced legislation Friday to set up a 10 member commission to deliver a report by Dec. 31.Under the bill, the commission would include 10 members with expertise in law enforcement and national security backgrounds, with each party appointing five lawmakers, The Hill reported.
"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.
The White House formally backed a bill to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he won't support the legislation,The Hill reported.
In a statement of administrative policy released Tuesday, the White House called the Capitol attack "an unprecedented assault on our democracy, an effort to undo the will of the American people and threaten the peaceful transition of power."
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,The Hill reported.
(ANI)