Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and GOP Sen. Susan Collins reportedly had a heated exchange on the Senate floor shortly before Republican senators voted to block a bill to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to Burgess Everett, a reporter who works for Politico who witnessed the exchange.
Burgess described it as “testy” and said Collins looked “quite angry” afterward and left Schumer shaking his head.
According to The Hill, Collins was reportedly and Schumer said she was frustrated that Schumer gave such a speech attacking Republican opposition to the Jan. 6 commission bill when Collins had been working furiously this week to try to pull together more bipartisan support for the legislation.
In his speech before the vote, Schumer excoriated GOP senators for opposing a motion to proceed to the legislation.
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“If our Republicans vote against this I would ask them, what are you afraid of? The truth? Are you afraid that Donald Trump’s big lie will be dispelled? Are you afraid that all of the misinformation that has poured out will be rebutted by a bipartisan, down-the-middle commission?” he demanded on the floor, looking over to the Republican side of the aisle.
“This is about a democracy, it’s about the future of our democracy,” he added. “The big lie has eroded that democracy and we must do everything we can to rebut it. This not a Democratic or Republican obligation. This is an American obligation.”
“Our democracy, our beautiful more-than-two-century-old democracy is at more risk because of the lies perpetuated by President Trump and his allies than it has in a very long time and this commission is a great antidote to that,” he added.
The motion to proceed to the bill fell six votes short of passing, 54-35. The six Republicans voting “yes” were Collins, Romney, Portman, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.).
Schumer was asked about his conversation with Collins at a press conference after the vote.
He said she only asked him to make sure that Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) knew that he had committed to support her amendment, which he said he had already told “many senators.”
“I’ll be brief about it. Sen. Collins wanted to make sure that Sen. Portman knew that I supported her amendment, which I told many senators including [Sen. Joe] Manchin [D-W.Va.]. And so I told her I would and I told [Portman] and he voted yes,” Schumer explained.
Sen. Collins just had a testy exchange with Sen. Schumer on the floor on Jan. 6 Commission. Collins told Schumer "totally unbelievable" and that he's "gone back" on something. She then voted to advance it. Collins looked quite angry; Schumer was shaking his head
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 28, 2021
Watch the video below.
CLIPS (edited together): Exchanges on the Senate floor between @SenSchumer and @SenatorCollins.
First clip at Sen. Schumer's desk.
Second clip Sen. Schumer gets up from his desk and walks over to Sen. Collins. pic.twitter.com/cwM0b9ThqT
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 28, 2021
