Republican Senators Humiliate Themselves By Admitting They Haven’t Read 1/6 Commission Bill

Last updated on May 23rd, 2021 at 03:29 pm

The bill creating the 1/6 Commission is not long, but Republican senators oppose the commission without reading the legislation.

Haley Byrd Wilt of The Dispatch asked 20 Republican Senators about the bill, and she reported:

In interviews with more than 20 GOP senators on Thursday, Republicans raised fears about how the commission would work, how long it would last, and whether it would amount to a partisan circus. The answers to many of these questions are in the text of the relatively straightforward, 19-page bill passed by the House this week. When pressed on the gap between the details of the bill and their portrayal of it, some senators simply admitted they hadn’t read the legislation.

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“I haven’t even read it,” Rubio added. “I mean, it just came over. But just my overarching concern is I can already see the shadow of how this is going to be used for a political purpose, and I’m not interested in formalizing some partisan political weapon by either side.”

The bill has been available to the Senators to read for a week. If the Republican Senators read a little more than two pages a day, they would be done by now.

The Senators voiced their opposition to the commission because they incorrectly believe that Pelosi and Schumer would be in charge and that subpoenas would be issued for political purposes.

None of this is possible, as the Commission would be evenly divided between Democratic and Republican experts. No elected official or government employee is allowed to serve, and subpoenas must be approved by either the Chair and Vice-Chair or a majority commission vote.

Republicans are embarrassing themselves by opposing bipartisan legislation that their GOP colleagues helped to write because they refuse to read the bill.

Republican Senators aren’t doing their jobs. They are opposing legislation without reading it. They have no interest in governing and should not be returned to the majority.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association