Fast Facts for May 19, 2021
The bill to form a 9/11 style bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the capitol just cleared the house.
The final vote 252 to 175 with 35 republicans voting *for* it.
Despite the clear opposition against the commission from house minority leader Kevin McCarthy, — house republicans still voted *for* it.
I explained all the details of this would-be commission and its mission, in this video I posted yesterday. The deal was created by top house democrat and republican lawmakers.
Now the bill moves to the senate where, its fate is uncertain. Especially since minority leader Mitch McConnell came out this morning saying he too is against it.
The bill needs 60 votes in the senate to pass. That means all 50 democrats and independents plus 10 republicans. A threshold that’s really tough to reach in this political climate.
If this bill fails, it doesn’t mean the January 6th investigative commission idea is over. The house speaker has hinted very loudly that if this bill fails, creating a house select committee with subpoena power would be an option.
