Dozens of House Republicans defied their leadership despite lobbying efforts, voting with every single Democrat in the chamber to create a commission to investigate the Capitol riot. The bill passed 252-175.
The proposed 9/11-style commission still faces a dire future in the Senate, where Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell has announced his opposition to the legislation.
In the upper chamber, split 50-50 between the parties, Democrats need 10 Republicans to get past the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Getting there now looks increasingly unlikely as Republican senate leadership is putting its foot down.
The 35 Republicans who voted for the commission in the House is a notable break from former President Donald Trump. He thundered after the vote: “See, 35 wayward Republicans – they just can’t help themselves. We have much better policy and are much better for the Country, but the Democrats stick together, the Republicans don’t.
“They don’t have the Romneys, Little Ben Sasses, and Cheneys of the world. Unfortunately, we do. Sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak. The voters understand!”
The “wayward Republicans” include:
- French Hill, Arkansas
- Steve Womack, Arkansas
- David Valadao, California
- Carlos Gimenez, Florida
- Maria Salazar, Florida
- Mike Simpson, Idaho
- Rodney Davis, Illinois
- Adam Kinzinger, Illinois
- Trey Hollingsworth, Indiana
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
- Meijer Peter, Michigan
- Fred Upton, Michigan
- Michael Guest, Mississippi
- Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska
- Don Bacon, Nebraska
- Chris Smith, New Jersey
- Andrew Garbarino, New York
- Tom Reed, New York
- John Katko, New York
- Chris Jacobs, New York
- David Joyce, Ohio
- Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio
- Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma
- Cliff Bentz, Oregon
- Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania
- Tom Rice, South Carolina
- Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
- Van Taylor, Texas
- Tony Gonzales, Texas
- Blake Moore, Utah
- John Curtis, Utah
- Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington
- Dan Newhouse, Washington
- David McKinley, West Virginia
- Liz Cheney, Wyoming
The legislation, if passed into law, will establish a 10-member commission to investigate the Capitol riot and provide a report before the end of the year with “findings regarding the facts and causes of the attack”. Both parties would get to choose five members each.
