Schumer: GOP lawmakers who blocked bill chose to defend Trump’s ‘big lie’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republican lawmakers who voted against advancing the Jan. 6 commission bill did so “out of fear or fealty to Donald Trump.”
“Out of fear or fealty to Donald Trump, the Republican minority just prevented the American people from getting the full truth about January 6th. The Republican minority just prevented the Senate from even debating the bill. No opportunity for amendments, no opportunity for debate. There was an attempt by the Republican minority to shunt this vote into the dark of night. But because of today’s Senate time agreement, it was done in broad daylight. The American people will see how each Republican senator voted,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Schumer said voting in favor of the bipartisan commission “should’ve been simple.”
“Senate Republicans for months publicly supported the idea of a commission. But now all of a sudden, the Senate minority and the Senate minority leader waged a partisan filibuster against the bill. This vote has made it official: Donald Trump’s big lie has now fully enveloped the Republican party. Trump’s big lie is now the defining principle of what was once the party of Lincoln,” Schumer said.
“Senate Republicans chose to defend the big lie because they believe anything that might upset Donald Trump could hurt them politically,” he said.
“Shame on the Republican party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they’re afraid of Donald Trump,” he added.
Six Republican senators — Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Rob Portman, Lisa Murkowski, and Ben Sasse — voted to advance the commission bill.
