WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection passed the U.S. House Wednesday evening, but its future is uncertain in the U.S. Senate.
What You Need To Know
- Just two of Ohio’s 11 Republicans in the U.S. House voted to create a commission to investigate Jan. 6
- House Democrats argue the independent panel is needed to learn more about the Capitol attack
- Most House Republicans are accusing Democrats of politicizing the process
- Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan yelled at his GOP colleagues on the floor Wednesday
Only two Ohio Republicans — Rep. Dave Joyce (R, OH-14) and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R, OH-16) — joined Democrats in voting for the legislation, while the rest voted against it.
On Tuesday, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) said in a statement, “Given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation.”
House Democrats disagreed.
Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D, OH-13) went after his Republican colleagues on the House floor Wednesday evening.
“Benghazi! You guys chased the former secretary of state all over the country, spent millions of dollars,” Ryan shouted. “We have people scaling the Capitol, hitting the Capitol Police with lead pipes across the head and we can’t get bipartisanship! What else has to happen in this country?!”
He said in an interview earlier in the day that a panel of non-lawmakers will be able to dig deeper into what went wrong on Jan. 6 than the various congressional committees already conducting their own investigations.
“We’re trying to respond the best we can, but we’re also in the middle of the appropriations process, we’ve got to continue to do the other things that our Congress and government needs to do,” Ryan said. “And so I think it would be very, very helpful to have this bipartisan commission.”
The commission would be made up of 10 members who are not in Congress — half would be appointed by Democrats and half by Republicans.
The group would be able to issue subpoenas if the Democratic chair and Republican vice chair agree, and the panel would issue a report by the end of the year.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s unclear whether Democrats can convince 10 Republicans to join them in passing it after Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) came out against it.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee conducting its own bipartisan investigation.
His office said Wednesday that Portman is undecided on whether he’ll support a separate commission.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) feels differently, saying in a statement Wednesday, “The partisan tactics in recent hearings illustrate the need for an independent commission to review exactly what happened.”
On top of this debate, the House is slated to vote Thursday on a $2 billion funding bill to increase security in and around the Capitol Complex.
Congressman Ryan, who chairs the committee that funds U.S. Capitol Police, said it’s needed.
“I think it pales in comparison to the cost of what happened here on Jan. 6, and this is a downpayment on saying this is never going to happen again in the country,” Ryan said.
