House Republicans line up against bipartisan January 6 commission
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders made clear Tuesday they are united in opposition to bipartisan legislation to create a commission to study the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, but fractures within their own party show the politically precarious nature of the vote and the divisions former President Donald Trump still sows.
Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., capped a day of GOP messaging on the bill Tuesday saying leaders recommend members vote “no” but are stopping short of conducting a formal whip count, a move that typically means leadership is encouraging the rank and file to vote their conscience.
But Scalise’s office also sent out an email to all Republican legislative directors suggesting leaders are indeed monitoring how caucus members plan to vote.
“IMPORTANT: If your boss intends to vote in favor of the bill, it is imperative that you contact the Whip Floor Team by email,” the email read.
The legislation, which the House will vote on Wednesday after one hour of debate, is the product of a compromise between the two leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee, Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson and New York Republican John Katko.
“When those individuals attacked the Capitol, they came for the vice president, who was a Republican; they came for the speaker, who is a Democrat,” Thompson said, noting that rioters didn’t ask about party affiliation. “They came for what we represent as a nation, and that’s what we have to defend by having this commission front and center in providing advice and counsel.”
Scalise and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have said the bill is too narrow in scope for Republicans who want to investigate other political violence, such as the 2017 shooting at a GOP congressional baseball practice in which Scalise was gravely wounded.
Scalise in a brief interview with CQ Roll Call lamented that the bill didn’t address the baseball shooting or the April 2 attack that killed a Capitol Police officer.
“I wanted to see it more broad, and obviously John Katko worked hard to try to improve on what Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi had put together,” Scalise said.
When asked about the fact that Katko and Thompson hammered out the deal — one in which Katko acknowledged Thompson made concessions — Scalise said it wasn’t enough to get him onboard.
“He’s worked hard to try to advance it,” the Louisiana Republican said of Katko. “But clearly there were other things that our members wanted included that Speaker Pelosi rejected.”
But the commission, Katko said, could actually have the flexibility to include components outside the Jan. 6 attack. “How much that commission will exercise that flexibility, that depends on the commissioners,” he said.