The House met at 10 a.m. and will take up H.R. 3233 – National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act. The legislation will establish an independent commission that would investigate the violent insurrection incited by embattled former President Donald J. Trump on January 6 at the US Capitol, though it’s unclear as of Wednesday morning how many Republican lawmakers will actually join Democrats in supporting the bill. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) came out in strong opposition to the bipartisan deal, but GOP sources familiar with the matter said that as many as 40 House Republicans could back the plan, in part because of the 29 GOP members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, a group that endorsed the plan Tuesday. The bill is expected to pass through the Democratically controlled House on Wednesday evening but the margins are an important indicator because just how many House Republicans are willing to buck their party leadership may offer an early signal for how many GOP senators could back the bill. Supporters of the plan will need at least 10 Republicans in the Senate to join all 50 Democrats in the chamber in order to overcome a 60-vote filibuster and pass the bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told Republicans on Wednesday that he is opposed to any independent commission investigating the insurrection as envisioned by the House, backing former President Donald J. Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both of whom are vehemently opposed to the commission proposal. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) blasted House GOP leadership for swooping in at eleventh hour to try and “kill a bipartisan investigation” into the violent attack on the US Capitol arguing their efforts are “beyond crazy, to be so far under the thumb of Donald J. Trump.”
The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and will take up a resolution expressing congressional disapproval of a Trump Administration rule submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that revises the EEOC settlement process to provide employers with the factual and legal basis that the EEOC relied on to make a reasonable cause finding of a discriminatory practice. The Senate will also continue work on S.1260 – Endless Frontier Act. Majority Leader Schumer on Tuesday unveiled the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260, a legislative package that renamed the Endless Frontier Act and added to it a number of other bills largely aimed at combating China’s economic influence.
In important hearings of note, at 10 a.m. CIA Director William Burns began testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee. At 10 a.m. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and departing Principal Deputy CDC Director Anne Schuchat started testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. At 10:30 a.m. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm began testifying before an Energy and Commerce subcommittee to discuss the President’s FY 2022 discretionary request for the Department of Energy. Chairman Pallone MEMO. Granholm TESTIMONY.
President Joe Biden is set to deliver his first commencement address as commander in chief when he speaks today to graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Biden will talk about the role the Coast Guard has played in the nation’s economic and national security, and talk about his commitment to rebuilding the Coast Guard around the world.
The White House said earlier today that President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he expects a “significant de-escalation” in the violence between Israel and Hamas by Wednesday to put the two sides “on the path to a ceasefire,” according to a readout of the leaders’ Wednesday morning call released by the White House. Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
