The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill to create a nonpartisan commission to investigate the attempted insurrection on January 6th of this year, which national and Texas Republicans immediately sought to politicize.
The bill, which passed the House on a 252-175 vote that drew bipartisan support from over 30 Republicans, only netted two votes from Republican members of Congress in Texas: Rep. Anthony Gonzales and Rep. Van Taylor joined the group of Republicans voting in favor of the commission, which was negotiated by Republican Rep. John Katko of New York and Democrat Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
The legislation was supported by every Democrat in the chamber, but Republican leadership, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, was apparently working behind the scenes in an effort to avoid the ire of former President Donald Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has telegraphed the rough path to passage the bill has in the U.S. Senate, with the Kentucky Republican already announcing that he’ll vote no, and likely whip his members to do the same.
This could pose an interesting conflict of interest, as several of the Republicans that could vote no in the Senate may also be subject to the commission’s investigation. Senator Ted Cruz from right here in Texas and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri were two of the most vocal and active public figures stoking the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, with the pair speaking at rallies and saluting protestors in the lead up to the insurrection.
The claims being pushed by McCarthy and McConnell about the commission being a partisan witch hunt are just the latest in a desperate attempt to deflect blame for the deadly insurrection and white wash the involvement of Trump and national Republicans in spreading the lies that led to the violent clash between an angry mob of Trump supporters and law enforcement protecting the capitol as Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s electoral college win.
Joe brings over a decade of experience as a political operative and creative strategist to Texas Signal, where he serves as our Senior Advisor and does everything from writing a regular column, Musings, to mentoring our staff and freelancers. Joe was campaign manager for Lina Hidalgo's historic 2018 victory for Harris County Judge and is a passionate sneakerhead.
