Sandra Garza, the longtime partner of late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, said during a new CBS interview that she is “disgusted” by the Republican Senators who recently blocked a bill that would have created an independent commission to investigate the January riot at the Capitol. Sicknick participated in the defense of the Capitol against the Trump supporters who mobbed there that day, and he died — of what the D.C. medical examiner says were natural causes — shortly thereafter.
Republicans have offered varying excuses for their opposition to the creation of the proposed independent commission. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for instance, characterized the proposed commission as a “purely political exercise” — despite the fact that it would have been bipartisan to the point that even any subpoena would have required agreement from members of both major political parties. Garza and Gladys Sicknick, the late officer’s mother, met with Republican Senators ahead of the vote on the riot investigation bill, pushing them to support the measure — but the Senate GOP apparently wasn’t moved.
McConnell calls outside Jan. 6 commission a “purely political exercise” and accused Democrats of wanting “to litigate” Trump through next year’s midterms
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 25, 2021
Garza commented as follows:
‘I’m disgusted that the Republican senators, that decided to vote no. It’s a spit in the face to Brian, it’s a spit in the face to all the officers that were there that day.’
Garza — and Gladys Sicknick — added that they do, in fact, hold Trump responsible for what happened. As Garza put it:
‘And I was a person who supported Donald Trump. Brian was a supporter of his. I mean, even on Brian’s Twitter page, he had Donald Trump’s personal plane in the background, as his background picture… [Trump] knew that Brian was devoted to him, and he did not once reach out to me, to Gladys, he didn’t even send a letter of condolences. He did absolutely nothing. And so, you know, it’s very upsetting, you know, that he’s not — and I would meet with him, actually. I would. I would meet with him.’
Garza added that if she got a chance to speak with the former president, she “would ask him why he failed all law enforcement that day.” As she also put it, “For me this isn’t about being a Republican or a Democrat, it’s none of that. it’s about doing what’s right for the country.” Republicans were able to block the riot investigation bill because of Senate procedural rules requiring the agreement of 60 Senators before moving to a final vote on most legislation in the 100-member chamber. Mostly, that translates into needing agreement from the Senate’s minority before moving forward to a final vote. Pressure to change these outdated procedural rules has steadily grown.
