Republican Moderate Sens. Thom Tillis (NC) and Susan Collins (ME) oppose the Senate on the January 6 Commission, at least in its current form.
An NBC News reporter tweeted, “Sen. Tillis was undecided on the Jan 6 Commission yesterday. Today he says there has been a lot of talk among members and he’d vote against it.”
A Hill reporter tweeted about Collins, who “says she will support Jan. 6 commission if some changes are made to House bill, per pool.”
The senators’ positions are important due to the credibility the Senate casts on the commission to be voted on in the House on Wednesday.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) oppose the commission.
McCarthy said Republicans have been hoodwinked by Pelosi “falsely” claiming “in the press that she had delivered Republicans a counterproposal, when in reality her proposal would not surface until weeks later.”
“Republican requests for fair representation and an unbiased premise from which to begin such an investigation were always understood to be the starting point for bipartisan negotiations, not the end result,” he said.
Democrats have unashamedly been campaigning on the potential creation of the commission.
Rep. Josh Harder’s (D-CA) campaign for reelection solicited his supporters’ emails in relation to the commission. “If you agree that we need to stop playing politics and need a full investigation into what happened on January 6th, please add your name to this petition,” the email said Wednesday.
The House vote is scheduled for Wednesday around 5:30 PM EST with Never-Trumper Rep. John Katko (R-NY) co-sponsoring the Speaker’s partisan commission.
Chairman of the City of Fulton Republican Committee Marc Holliday has explained he regrets endorsing Katko in 2020, stating he is “disgusted and appalled by how he has voted and held himself in Congress so far. Katko has completely abandoned his base and has ignored the voice of the people who put him where he is.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that Sen. Collins opposes the legislation in its current form but did not explicitly say she would vote “no” on the commission.