House Passes Bill For Independent Commission To Investigate Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

House voted Wednesday to pass legislation for an independent commission to probe the riot on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol with the support of 35 Republicans.

The bill passed House in a vote of 252 yeas to 175 nays, sending the bill to the Senate.

Hours before the House passed the bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told reporters he opposes the bill. However, McConnell also revealed that he wouldn’t actively lobby the Republicans to oppose the bill.

“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 Jan. 6,” McConnell told reporters on the Senate floor.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said he will make sure the Senate will vote in the coming weeks so as to force Republicans to choose.

“An independent commission can be the antidote to the poisonous mistruths that continue to spread about Jan. 6, and that is what our founding fathers believed in,” he said. “The American people will see for themselves whether our Republican friends stand on the side of truth or on the side of Donald Trump’s big lie.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters Wednesday that she will need to see some changes to the bill before she could support it.

If the bill is passed, the 10-person committee -– similar to the commission that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attack – would take a probe on the Capitol riot and deliver findings by Dec. 31.

Article by Dongyoon Shin