Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — a couple of the most conservatively minded Democrats in the Senate — have banded together for a new statement in which they express support for the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the January Capitol riot. At present, there’s a bill under consideration that would create such a commission, and although 35 House Republicans voted in favor of that bill, just two Senate Republicans have indicated so far that they intend to do the same. Thus, it’s clear from the start that all votes — including those of Manchin and Sinema — are critical.
In their new joint statement, Manchin and Sinema also said that they “implore” their “Senate Republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of January 6th.” They commented as follows:
‘The events of January 6th were horrific. We could never have imagined an attack on Congress and our Capitol at the hands of our own citizens. In the hours and days following the attack, Republican and Democratic members of Congress condemned the violence and vowed to hold those responsible accountable so our Democracy will never experience an attack like this again. A bipartisan commission to investigate the events of that day has passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote and is a critical step to ensuring our nation never has to endure an attack at the hands of our countrymen again. We implore our Senate Republican colleagues to work with us to find a path forward on a commission to examine the events of January 6th.’
Read their full statement by clicking on the post below:
Are Manchin and Sinema setting up the GOP to vote for the commission OR they'll assume bipartisanship is dead? pic.twitter.com/YwyHbNMtqn
— Duty To Warn 🔉 (@duty2warn) May 25, 2021
In the Senate, Democrats would need the support of at least 10 Republicans to overcome a planned GOP filibuster against the commission creation bill. Under Senate rules, 60 votes in the 100-member chamber are required to move to a final vote on most legislation, and with the current party breakdown, 60 votes would require at least 10 Republicans. So far, just Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have indicated that they support the commission creation bill, and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) have said that they might.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of Senate Republican leadership, said (among other things) during an appearance on Fox last weekend that one of his problems with the proposed commission is that it’s so soon after the initial event in question (meaning the riot), but imposing an arbitrary timeline on the formation of an investigative commission seems like pointless deflection.
