Murkowski expresses support for Jan. 6 commission bill
- Yacob Reyes, author ofAxios Tampa Bay
Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Tuesday that she would support the House-passed bill to launch a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Why it matters: Murkowski is now the second Senate Republican, along with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), to express public support for the bill. At least 10 Senate Republicans are needed for the bill to pass.
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has indicated she also supports launching a commission, but she expressed that the bill has "flaws" that need to be corrected, per The Hill.
The big picture: The House passed the commission bill last week, with the support of 35 Republicans.
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) publicly opposed the bill last week, calling it a "slanted and unbalanced proposal.”
- “Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 election, I think, is a day lost on being able to draw contrast between us and the Democrats’ very radical left-wing agenda,” Senate GOP Whip Sen. John Thune (S.D.) told the Washington Post last Wednesday.
What they're saying: "The formation of the commission is more important now than it’s ever been. In the months since Jan. 6, Washington Republicans have tried to rewrite history and recast the attack of Jan. 6 as little more than peaceful protests that got out of hand," Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the House floor Monday.