Donald Trump Threatens GOP Defectors Over Insurrection Commission: 'The Voters Understand"

Donald Trump has voiced his displeasure with the Republicans who broke ranks and voted in favor of an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection. While the proposal passed the House, it faces steeper odds in the Senate with opposition from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“See, 35 wayward Republicans — they just can’t help themselves. We have much better policy and are much better for the Country, but the Democrats stick together, the Republicans don’t,” Trump said in a statement.

Every Democratic representative voted for the measure, which is enough to get it passed even without the meager Republican support it garnered.

“They don’t have the Romney’s, little Ben Sasse’s, and Cheney’s of the world. Unfortunately, we do. Sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak,” Trump said. “The voters understand!”

The threat implicit in his final sentence is one he has previously made. Many of the conservative congressmen who voted for the bill have already been branded targets for primary challenges.

Trump’s ire is enough to do damage even without public pressure: Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was recently ousted from her leadership position after refusing to fall in with the Republican party line on Trump’s unproven voter fraud allegations and portrayal of the Jan. 6 riots.

The message came through his personal blog, the main outlet for the former president after being kicked off of all major social media platforms.

The proposal to form a commission to investigate the Capitol riots nows stands before the Senate, where Democrats will require 10 defectors if they want to see it passed. A reportedly light touch from McConnell has still been enough to all but guarantee the measure’s demise.