On Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued a public statement going after Republican opposition to the proposal to create an independent commission to investigate the January riot at the Capitol. So far, only a small number of Senate Republicans have come out in favor of the bill to create that commission, although a total of ten GOP supporters in the chamber would be needed to overcome a planned filibuster of the bill by Republicans. The bill already passed the House with 35 Republican supporters, but Senate Republicans haven’t gotten on board at a similar rate.
Manchin commented as follows:
‘There is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission since Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for. Mitch McConnell has made this his political position, thinking it will help his 2022 elections. They do not believe the truth will set you free, so they continue to live in fear.’
Check out Manchin’s statement by clicking on the post below:
My statement on the January 6th Commission: pic.twitter.com/ZfNhQfKzmh
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) May 27, 2021
Manchin has previously issued a joint statement with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who together 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.” Manchin and Sinema are considered two of the most conservatively minded Democrats in the Senate, and with barely any Republican support in the chamber for the effort to create a commission to investigate the riot, every vote is critical.
Gladys Sicknick — the mother of the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died (of natural causes) shortly after defending the Capitol against the Trump rioters — has been trying to meet with the office of every single Republican Senator (there are 50) to push for them to support the creation of the proposed investigative commission. Sandra Garza — the late officer’s longtime girlfriend — and D.C. Police officer Michael Fanone, who sustained a heart attack and concussion in connection to his own participation in the defense of the Capitol against the Trump mob, have also been participating in that effort. Meetings were slated for this Thursday.
Pointedly, Gladys Sicknick said in reference to the bill to create the independent commission that she suggests “that all Congressmen and Senators who are against this Bill visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward.”
