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Montana senators react following Jan. 6 commission vote
Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 6/1/21
On May 29, the U.S. Senate voted on whether to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. The motion fell six votes short of the two-thirds majority needed with 54 senators in favor of forming the commission and 35 opposed. Montana’s two senators were split on the issue, with Sen. Jon Tester voting for the formation of a commission and Sen. Steve Daines against.
“The January 6th insurrection was a deadly attack on our democracy by domestic terrorists, and has absolutely no place in America,” Tester said in a May 29 statement. “Establishing a nonpartisan 9/11-style commission to get to the bottom of what happened should have been a no brainer. I am deeply disappointed in my colleagues for choosing their own political interest over investigating what led to that day’s horrific events. We must hold the terrorists who attacked the Capitol—and those who enabled and incited them—accountable for their actions, and make sure such an ugly stain on our democracy never happens again.”
A spokesperson for Daines made a statement on his behalf:
“Sen. Daines believes January 6th was a sad day for our country and he condemns the violence that occurred. He believes all those who took part should be held accountable and supports the ongoing law enforcement investigations,” the spokesperson said, as reported by NBC Montana.
“Currently, there are bipartisan investigations led by Senate Committees looking into what happened on January 6th including flaws in the U.S. Capitol security—the Senator supports those efforts. With that said, the Senator does not support the proposed Jan. 6 commission because it is duplicative of work already being done in a bipartisan manner in the Senate and elsewhere.”
