Schumer fast-tracks bill to create Jan. 6 commission

by Jordain Carney - 05/20/21 11:36 AM ET

Senate Democrats are moving quickly to set up a vote on the House-passed bill to create a commission investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) finished the fast-track process for the bill, known as Rule 14, Thursday morning.

“I just moved to place the legislation for a commission on the floor under Rule 14, and it is my intention to bring the bipartisan legislation for the Jan. 6 commission up for a vote,” Schumer said from the floor.

“My Senate Republican colleagues must now ask themselves: Are they going to join us in pursuing the truth or are they going to cover for Donald Trump and his big lie?” he added.

The two-step procedure makes the bill available for a vote. Schumer hinted that he would bring it up “very soon,” but did not specify the timeline Thursday.

It appears likely the vote will wait until after the Senate returns from a one-week Memorial Day recess. The Senate is currently debating a China competitiveness bill, with Schumer saying Thursday that it’s his goal to wrap up that legislation “by the end of next week.” That would leave little time for additional votes before senators head out of town.

The House approved the Jan. 6 commission legislation in a 252-175 vote on Wednesday, which included the support of 35 GOP lawmakers.

But the bill faces an unlikely path in the Senate, were Republicans are increasingly turning against the commission as they try to move past the Jan. 6 attack and focus on the 2022 midterm elections.

If the same percent of Senate Republicans voted for the commission, that would leave Democrats short of the 10 GOP votes they need to pass the bill in the upper chamber.

Republicans have raised a myriad of concerns about the bill, including how staff would be hired and the scope of the commission. They also argue that it’s redundant with the Justice Department and two Senate committees running their own investigations.

Schumer, speaking from the floor, accused Republicans of “trying to rewrite history in fealty to or in fear of the former president, Donald Trump.”

“Republicans in both chambers are trying to erase the memory of Jan. 6 and perpetuate the big lie. They’re now likening the mob on Jan. 6 to a group of ‘normal tourists,’ ” Schumer said.