U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the top-ranking Republican in the chamber, said Tuesday he would not support the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
"Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker's shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation," McCarthy said in a statement.
The statement came on the heels of a bipartisan agreement reached last week between House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, and the panel's top GOP member, John Katko, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump following the insurrection by the president's supporters, on the legislation establishing the investigative body modeled after the 9/11 Commission.
McCarthy, himself facing the potential of being subpoenaed by the prospective commission since he talked to Trump as the insurrection unfolded, said he could not support the legislation because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, "refused to negotiate in good faith" on the parameters of the commission and because Democrats' "renewed focus" does not include the "political violence" in American cities, the 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice or the fatal attack on April 2 that killed a Capitol Police officer.
"The presence of this political violence in American society cannot be tolerated and it cannot be overlooked," McCarthy wrote. "I have communicated this to our Democrat colleagues for months and its omission is deeply concerning," he added.
A spokesperson for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said Monday that Republicans are not being urged to vote for or against the bill. It remains to be seen to what extent McCarthy's opposition will influence House Republicans' decision on the legislation, on which the House is expected to vote Wednesday.
Under the bill, the commission would include five members, including a chair, appointed by Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and another five members, including a vice chair, appointed by McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
None of its 10 members will be sitting members of Congress, according to Thompson, and they must all have "significant expertise in the areas of law enforcement, civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, intelligence, and cybersecurity."
The commission will also have the subpoena power to solicit information to carry out its investigation, but that will require agreement between the chair and the vice chair or a vote by a majority of commission members.
Assuming the legislation would pass the Democratic-controlled House, its passage in the Senate faces an uphill battle, requiring bipartisan agreement to overcome the filibuster.
If created, the panel would have to issue a final report on its investigation and recommendations for preventing similar attacks by the end of the year.
