Key vote on Capitol riot commission delayed in Senate

Republican senators have delayed passage of a massive bill designed to increase American competitiveness with China, and that means a key procedural vote on a bill to create an independent panel to investigate the Jan. 6 riot on the US Capitol has been delayed until later Friday.

The timing of the commission vote is still not known because it’s unclear how far Republicans will drag out the fight over the previous bill.

At least eight Republicans have requested time to speak on the floor overnight — for up to an hour each — to voice their objections to the legislative package aimed at China, known as “the US Innovation and Competition Act,” and those GOP senators slammed what they said is a rushed process to make last-minute changes they have yet to review.

As the debate carried into early Friday morning, the chamber was largely empty. Only a few GOP senators remained to listen to ongoing debate. Looking on were a small cadre of bleary-eyed staffers and floor staff.

According to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who is the GOP Whip, Republicans would likely use five to six hours of their allotted time to speak on the floor overnight. That could be followed by additional debate as well as a series of procedural votes ahead of final passage of the legislative package, pushing the vote on the 1/6 commission farther into the day Friday or beyond.

This could change or go quicker if senators give back their allotted time or forgo some of the steps they have been asked to take, which could speed up or slow down the process depending on what they decide to do.

What could happen next: Once “the US Innovation and Competition Act” has been voted on, the chamber would then move on to the Jan. 6 commission bill.

In order for that bill to move forward at least 60 Senators will have to vote yes, which is not expected. Only three — Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have expressed their support for advancing the legislation.

Senate Republicans are expected to block a bill creating a commission to investigate the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol on January 6, preventing a high-profile probe into the attack that led to the deaths of five people and about 140 police officers injured.

If you are just tuning in, here’s where things stand in the Senate right now:

Read more about the Senate vote on the commission here.

Sen. Ron Johnson speaks to reporters at the Capitol on May 27, in Washington, DC.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, is headed to the Senate floor to discuss the reason that he is holding up the Endless Frontiers Act, a bipartisan legislation that would counter China’s growing influence by investing over $200 billion in American technology, science and research.

The Senate is currently holding a quorum call designed to force absent senators to the floor to explain their reasons for holding up the bill. Johnson told reporters that “we’ll be here a long time.”

Johnson hinted to reporters that he is interested in getting something related to border security into the China competition bill, and he said he was prepared to delay the process as long as possible to make his point. He had poster boards in his hand as he made his way to the Senate floor.

CNN reported earlier this evening, that the Jan. 6 commission vote will either be pushed into later in the night or delayed until tomorrow, but it’s not known yet. Democratic leaders want the vote to happen tonight.

Johnson made it clear that he was willing to extend this process, despite pleas from his colleagues to wrap things up.

“And by the way, we won’t have anywhere near enough time to consider this, but we’re going to make sure we can use whatever time we can,” Johnson said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks during a hearing on May 26, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of a handful of Republicans who backs the Jan. 6 commission bill, took aim at her GOP colleagues tonight for moving to block the measure — and was critical of the rationale by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that such a commission could prove politically problematic for the GOP ahead of the 2022 midterms.

“Is that really what this is about is everything is just one election cycle after another? Or are we going to acknowledge that as a country that is based on these principles of democracy that we hold so dear. .. One of those is that we have free and fair elections, and we respect the results of those elections and we allow for a peaceful transition of power. I kind of want that to endure beyond just one election,” she continued.

Murkowski also spoke about her conversation with the mother of fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and was asked about worries Republicans might have about enduring Trump’s wrath if they back the commission. She said some of her colleagues “don’t want to rock the boat.”

Some more background: Last week, the House passed the bill 252-175, with 35 Republicans joining Democrats. Two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have publicly urged Senate Republican senators to also back the bill.

But only three GOP senators — Murkowski, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine — have so far expressed their support for advancing the legislation, and Democrats need 10. The vast majority of the 50 Senate Republicans are expected to oppose it.

CNN’s Alex Rogers and Ted Barrett contributed reporting to this post. 

Senator John Thune speaks to reporters following the weekly Republican policy luncheons on Capitol Hill on May 25, in Washington, DC.

As Senate leaders are trying to finalize last-minute changes to the China competition bill, they’ve run into a snag: A Republican senator has demanded provisions be included in the package and is holding up final votes because of it.

That’s according to Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who called the problem “pretty unsolvable” and says “there’s no real path forward.” 

“It’s a big mess right now,” Thune said, without identifying the offending senator.

Without agreement for a vote on the amendment, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would have to take time-consuming steps to overcome the objection — a process that could push back final passage of the bill, the Endless Frontier Act, into the weekend.

So what does this mean for vote timing on Jan. 6 bill? Either it will be pushed into later in the night or delayed until tomorrow, but it’s not known yet. Democratic leaders want the vote to happen tonight.

Thune predicted that senators will be called to the floor to try to resolve the hangup soon.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said there’s no talk about delaying the key procedural vote on the Jan. 6 commission until tomorrow.

He added that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is committed to holding votes on all remaining business tonight.

He had no update on timing, but said there would probably be roughly six votes to cast tonight, including the Jan. 6 test vote.

Asked about the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s mother visiting Republicans and those same Republicans voting no, Durbin said, “I think members of the Senate ought to be embarrassed. The men and women who are risking their lives for us every single day are asking us to get to the bottom of who was responsible for Jan. 6. That is not too much to ask.”

Senators are still trying to hash out a final amendment to the Endless Frontier Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at bolstering US competitiveness with China. Once all 100 senators sign off on that final amendment, a process that has taken hours, then they have to agree on final votes on that legislation, including final passage.

Once they announce an agreement on the final amendment, there could be several votes before the Jan. 6 commission procedural vote. And each vote takes 20 to 30 minutes.

It’s also possible it could go quicker if senators reach an agreement to speed things up.

Bottom line: We don’t know when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will come to the floor to announce a time agreement or when the Jan. 6 commission procedural vote will be. But it could be late.

Gladys Sicknick, the mother of late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone arrive for a meeting with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to urge for a January 6 commission on May 27.

Today’s meetings between GOP senators and Gladys Sicknick, the mother of late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, were “very hard” for her, according to a source familiar with the meetings.

The meetings were all cordial, the source tells CNN, specifically the meetings with Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski were “very helpful because they knew someone is fighting for them.”

Ultimately, the senators made it clear to Sicknick, her son’s girlfriend Sandra Garza, Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone that they don’t want a Jan. 6 commission.

The source said it’s very hard for Sicknick to understand why the senators aren’t voting for the Jan. 6 commission, and at one point she said, “how can they not be doing the right thing?” saying that her son and all the officers deserve this and it is the right thing to do.

The group did not get any promises, but several senators said they shared Sicknick’s mission, according to a source. 

Sicknick repeated to the Republican senators what she said to reporters earlier on Thursday, that she normally stays in the background, but that she thought a commission would happen and it’s like a slap in the face not to have one.

Ultimately, Sicknick and Garza are still mourning the loss of a son and partner. Both women have necklaces with some of his ashes in them, and both were wearing those necklaces at the meetings today, the source said.

A bipartisan group of former Department of Homeland Security secretaries is calling on the Senate “to put politics aside” and create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, according to a joint statement provided first to CNN.

The statement, released by former DHS secretaries Michael Chertoff, Tom Ridge, Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson, went on to say that “we must understand how the violent insurrection at the Capitol came together to ensure the peaceful transfer of power in our country is never so threatened again.” 

The former secretaries’ statement comes as Republicans have sought to block a bill that would create a Jan. 6 commission, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asking Republican senators to oppose the bill as a “personal favor” to him, CNN reported Thursday.  

The 10-member, bipartisan commission proposed by House lawmakers earlier this month would be modeled after the panel that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Those attacks spurred the creation of DHS in an effort to better coordinate federal, state, and local entities against domestic and foreign threats to the US. Ridge, the first-ever DHS secretary, was among those called to testify before the 9/11 commission.

US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who joined the mother of fallen officer Brian Sicknick in meetings with GOP senators on the Hill this afternoon, said he supports the creation of a Jan. 6 commission.

The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote today on a bill that would establish a commission to investigate the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6.

As of now, only three GOP senators — Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have expressed their support for advancing the legislation, and Democrats need 10. The vast majority of the 50 Senate Republicans are expected to oppose the legislation. 

Senate Republicans are expected to block as soon as Thursday a bill creating a commission to investigate the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, preventing a high-profile probe into the attack that led to the deaths of five people and about 140 police officers injured.

Here’s how the commission would work if it were passed in Congress:

The refusal of at least 10 Republican senators to vote for the commission underscores the deeply partisan divide that has emerged over the insurrection earlier this year and comes at a crucial time for Capitol Hill where Democrats are struggling to advance President Biden’s agenda. Some Democrats are citing the resistance by Republicans as a sign for why the Senate should blow up the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation, given the narrowly divided chamber.

While some Republicans said months ago that a 9/11-type commission into the security of the Capitol was a necessity, they’ve since argued that it wouldn’t yield any new information amid other law enforcement investigations and arrests. Their opposition has infuriated Democrats, who assert that Republicans are trying to protect themselves ahead of the midterm elections.

Read more about today’s expected Senate vote on the commission here.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office says that there is no guidance yet on timing of the procedural vote on the Jan. 6 commission because there are still ongoing discussions about votes on other matters before this one. 

The vote is still expected to happen today and negotiations are ongoing on timing.

Ten Republicans would need to break ranks in order for Democrats to get the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster and advance the Jan. 6 commission legislation.

As of now, only three GOP senators — Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have expressed their support for advancing the legislation. The vast majority of the 50 Senate Republicans are expected to oppose it.

But what is a filibuster? A filibuster is any use of obstructive tactics that would prevent a bill or measure from coming to a vote. There are no clear rules on what form a filibuster should take, including how long it lasts. As a result, the mere threat of filibustering a bill can be enough to delay or block its passage.

Passing legislation requires a supermajority of 60 votes to block a filibuster — votes that Democrats don’t have now and may not have even after the midterm elections next year. Republicans haven’t worked well with Democrats in years. Democrats have lost patience with Republicans. Neither party has a supermajority.

So, in the absence of any sign Republicans will work with them, a growing pool of congressional Democrats are saying they now back reinterpreting Senate rules so they can pass legislation with a simple majority. They’re going to need to convince their most conservative member, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, to get on board, along with a handful of other Democratic holdouts.

Read more about the filibuster and and what could happen if the Senate rules are changed.

CNN’s Alex Rogers, Manu Raju and Ted Barrett contributed reporting to this post. 

Senate Minority Whip John Thune told CNN that Republicans have the votes to filibuster the Jan. 6 commission bill when it comes up for a procedural vote later today. He plans to vote to block the measure.

Asked if there would be 10 Republicans who might break ranks, Thune said, “I don’t believe there will be in its current form — in the House-passed version.”

“I think there are some issues with the commission, some flaws in the way it’s designed that it’s going to make it hard to get 10 Republicans to vote for it,” he added.

Thune said that his office “is trying to coordinate” a meeting with the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick’s mother, who is on Capitol Hill to lobby Republicans to back the commission.

Thune also said that a “deal is coming together” on the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act for a final series of votes on amendments before final passage later today. He said he didn’t expect Republicans to use all their debate time that could drag out the floor debate until the weekend.

“It’s still fluid. But it looks more likely, it will come together in the next hour or so.”

After that, the Senate is expected to proceed to the Jan. 6 commission bill.

Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, said his meeting with the family of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was fruitful, adding that “what they had to say was very important.”

However, asked if the meeting changed his mind on whether he would support the Jan. 6 commission, Scott said that wasn’t what the family wanted to talk with him about.

Sicknick’s family has pressed for a commission to find out what happened on Jan. 6, with the fallen officer’s mother telling reporters senators are “supposed to uphold the Constitution and right now I don’t think they’re doing that.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell objects to building the Jan. 6 commission, citing on Thursday the ongoing law enforcement investigations and the hundreds of arrests made, as well as activities in congressional committees.

Earlier this week, McConnell said that the bill “is a purely political exercise that adds nothing to the sum total of information.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, argued that Republicans oppose the bill not because of how the commission is structured but because of politics.

Schumer called Jan. 6 “one of the lowest moments in our democracy,” noting the lives lost and members of law enforcement who were injured in the violent insurrection.

“More than half of the Republican Party now believes that 2020 elections were rigged, and that Joe Biden isn’t the actual President of the United States. Republican state legislatures across the country captured by Donald Trump’s big lie are tripping over themselves to restrict access to the ballot box,” he said.

He expressed the need to find the truth, restore faith in elections and “put a stop to this cancer in the Republican Party,” calling a bipartisan independent commission to investigate Jan. 6 “exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Senate Republicans are expected to block as soon as Thursday a bill aimed at creating the commission to investigate the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, preventing a high-profile probe into the attack that led to the deaths of five people and about 140 police officers injured.

What the commission would do: The commission would attempt to find bipartisan consensus. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate evenly split the selection of its 10 members. A subpoena can only be issued to compel witness testimony if it has the support of the majority of members, or if the commission’s chairperson, chosen by Democrats, and the vice-chairperson, chosen by Republicans, come to an agreement.

The commission is also required to submit to the President and Congress a final report by the end of 2021 and dissolve 60 days thereafter — about nine months before the 2022 elections.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated on Thursday that President Joe Biden wants to see a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection passed into law ahead of the expected vote on the commission in the Senate. 

She continued, “Certainly he’ll continue to convey that publicly, you know, I also think he recognizes that, you know, some of the people who oppose it aren’t necessarily looking for his point of view, which is very public and well known.”

A vote on a bill to establish the commission is expected to take place in the Senate on Thursday. The overwhelming majority of GOP senators are expected to filibuster the measure and, as of now, only two GOP senators – Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – have indicated they would be willing to support the current legislation. 

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she would vote for a procedural motion to begin debate on the legislation to be able to offer an amendment to make changes to the bill, according to her spokeswoman Annie Clark. 

The measure passed in the House last week, with 35 Republican members voting for the commission.

Gladys Sicknick, the mother of United States Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, is on Capitol Hill on Thursday and said she is hopeful that her meetings with Senators today will change their minds on whether to vote for the commission. 

Gladys Sicknick, the mother of fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, said that “the country” should be on the minds of senators as they cast their vote on whether to form a Jan. 6 commission, saying members are “supposed to uphold the Constitution.”

But she’s still hopeful after her conversations with senators, saying “they’re very good at what they do, so, we hope. That’s all we can do. We just have to hope.”

“They sit and listen very well, but bottom line is, we don’t know” how the vote will go, she added.

Sicknick has been meeting with multiple GOP senators today in an effort to ramp up support for the Capitol riot commission bill.

Only three GOP senators— Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have expressed their support for advancing the legislation, and Democrats need 10. The vast majority of the 50 Senate Republicans are expected to oppose it; West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told CNN that the issue has become “too politicized.”

CNN’s Alex Rogers, Manu Raju and Ted Barrett contributed reporting to this post. 

Republican Sen. Susan Collins voices her support for the creation of January 6 commission while talking to journalists with (L-R) DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, Sandra Garza, girlfriend of the late US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, and US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn on May 27, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins spoke with reporters following her meeting with fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s girlfriend, Sandra Garza, and USCP Officer Harry Dunn and DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone. Sicknick’s mother, Gladys Sicknick, did not join them for this meeting.

The Republican senator from Maine said she thinks her amendment to fix the “flaw” in the House bill addressed the major objection to the bill, and that she has secured the agreement of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her amendment.

“My hope is that we can get, with this amendment, a sufficient number of Republicans to pass the bill. We owe it to the brave men and women who defended our lives that day. And in some cases did so at the cost of their lives. And that’s why I feel so strongly about that.”

Collins is one of only three GOP senators who have expressed their support for advancing the legislation – Democrats need 10. Republicans are in the Senate today.

Fanone said he came to educate lawmakers about his experiences that day.

“I want to see Congress come together in a bipartisan fashion and really get to the bottom of it, January 6, I think it’s necessary for us to heal from the trauma that we all experienced that day,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s so important.”

Garza said she’s frustrated by Republicans who still do not want to support the commission.

Garza said she wants senators “to be thinking about Brian Sicknick, Officer Liebengood, and Officer Jeffrey Smith. They sacrificed their lives that day. They really did. It doesn’t matter that Brian’s cause of death was natural” she said, using air quotes around the word natural.

“He still died defending them that day. And Officer Liebengood, and Officer Smith. They died as a result of the trauma that day,” she said.

Garza said she’s still hopeful that her conversations with senators will change minds.

Republicans leaders believe there will be some defections in the ranks but don’t believe there will be 10 to break a filibuster blocking the Jan. 6 commission bill from advancing, according to GOP sources familiar with the matter.

They say that the case they’ve made to their members has taken hold: That the commission would be used for political gain by Democrats and would undercut their efforts to take back the majority.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has told this to colleagues at a closed-door meeting this week, and he has reiterated that message publicly, the sources said.

“I’ve made my position pretty clear,” McConnell told CNN when asked if he were lobbying his colleagues hard on this.

And in a key sign this is going down, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito just told CNN she is a NO on the Jan. 6 commission bill. Says the issue has been “too politicized.”