Former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” that it was a “big deal” 35 House Republicans defied House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and voted with Democrats on a bill that would form a commission to investigate the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot.
Kasich said, “I think thirty-five is a big deal. This is the first time we’ve seen this kind of a crack. These are people that stood against the leadership. They stood against McCarthy, they stood against McConnell in a way, they stood against Trump, it’s a very, very big deal. It started when they kicked Liz Cheney out, and people started to say, this is kind of getting ridiculous. For 35 of them to march out there. I’ll tell you what happens next. Some members tomorrow, their staff will say, why didn’t you vote for this? It’s pretty simple, isn’t it? It’s a bipartisan investigation. The Republican who helped put it together said it was a bipartisan, non-political investigation. Their staff is going to say, why didn’t you support this? They will get calls from the local press saying, why didn’t you support this? This 35 gives some super octane as this thing moves over to the Senate. Senators will have to think, do I work for Mitch McConnell, or when I go home do I answer to constituents? I think it’s a very big deal.”
He added, “One more point, the Capitol Police wrote a letter asking, pleading with Congress to have this investigation. They’ve never done anything like this that I have been aware of. These police said investigate it, please. That’s powerful.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
