In criticizing the bill to establish a Jan. 6 commission, North Carolina Republican Rep. Dan Bishop claimed “what was an image of a bipartisan commission has now become one more partisan attack.”
Bishop suggested the commission would be partisan because it would be staffed entirely by Democrats.
“How can you have a bipartisan commission with an all Democrat staff?” Bishop asked.
Facts First: It’s not true that the staff of the commission would all be Democrats. The bill would create a 10-person commission, with each party getting an equal number of appointments and subpoena power.
Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson and Republican Rep. John Katko, who lead the creation of the bill, pushed back on Bishop’s claims.
“If you read the bill, you’ll understand it is a bipartisan bill,” said Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. “The staff will be picked just like the staff was picked for the 9/11 commission.”
Katko, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach then-President Trump over the events of Jan. 6, clarified that the commission would hire “as a team.”
“Here’s what the bill does. It requires consultation between the chair, appointed by the Democrats, and the vice chair, appointed by the Republicans, for any hiring of staff. And further requires that it be in accordance with rules agreed upon by the commission. The commission creates the rules as a team then they then hire as a team,” Katko said.
