Murkowski becomes second GOP senator to support bill on U.S. Capitol riot commission

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski will support legislation to form a commission on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, she told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

“I’m going to support it,” Murkowski said, according to The Hill.

In an e-mailed statement Wednesday, Murkowski said she hoped a “truly bipartisan commission” could “establish what motivated the mob to storm the Capitol, and more importantly to ensure that we don’t see a repeat of such an insurrection again.”

“What happened on January 6 was an attack on our institution and democracy. While the Department of Justice, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies are working to hold violators accountable, there are still unanswered questions that need to be addressed,” she wrote.

Murkowski is only the second Senate Republican to voice support for the bill. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced he would vote for the bill Monday. Murkowski’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about her support for the bill.

The bill establishing a commission to investigate the causes of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has already passed the House of Representatives.

Alaska Rep. Don Young was not among the 35 House Republicans who voted in favor of the legislation. So far, the commission bill has found less bipartisan support in the Senate.

Young voted against the bill because “the formation of another panel is duplicative and further erodes the power of committee chairmen and ranking members,” spokesman Zack Brown said Tuesday.

“He stated on the record that he believes what occurred on Jan. 6th was an act of terror committed against law enforcement, members of Congress, and staff; and that it was criminal and un-American,” Brown said. “There is nothing stopping the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Committees from investigating the events of Jan. 6.”

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan “is evaluating the legislation and has not yet decided how he will vote,” his spokesman Nate Adams said.