Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Sunday insisted that she "strongly" supports a bipartisan commission to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol even though she has threatened to vote against it.
During an appearance on ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Collins why she has said that she would vote against a bill that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to establish the commission.
"You called that attack appalling and un-American, provoked by President Trump," Stephanopoulos noted. "But now you say you're going to support the commission only under certain conditions, including that it wrap up this year, which appears pretty unrealistic."
"Why are you opposed to voting for the commission as passed by the House?" he wondered.
"First of all, let me clarify my position," Collins replied. "I strongly support the creation of an independent commission. I believe there are many unanswered questions about the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6. We need to figure out how we can enhance security, why we weren't better prepared."
"So I support the creation of a non-partisan, bipartisan commission," she said before adding a list of demands that could hobble the effort.
According to Collins, "Both sides should either jointly appoint the staff or there should be equal numbers of staff appointed by the chairman and the vice chairman."
The Republican senator also said that she sees "no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year."
"I'm optimistic that we can get past these issues based on recent conversations I've had with the Speaker of the House and the House majority leader," she added.
