SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led Republicans to block a bipartisan commission to investigate the mob insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump. And at an appearance Wednesday in Shelbyville, he deflected accusations by Democrats that Republicans opposed the commission of the Jan. 6 attach on the U.S. Capitol because they feared Trump.
McConnell said the Justice Department investigation is still active.
“The attorney general has assured me and others he is aggressively pursuing everybody, including some who were from our state, who were involved in the insurrection at the Capitol,” McConnell said. “Nobody's going to get away with anything.”
McConnell also noted the attack is under investigation by two Senate committees.
“We were all witnesses to it. I was there. We all know exactly what happened,” he said. “I don't think we would learn anything further by having yet another level of investigation, and that's why I opposed the Jan. 6 Commission.”
McConnell met Wednesday with Shelby County business and civic leaders and weighed in on the continuing labor shortage in Kentucky
“The coronavirus is behind us," he said. "We need to get back to work."
The senator criticized Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's decision to continue giving an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits. Beshear said the payments are fueling consumer spending in Kentucky. McConnell said it is time for them to end.
“This is inhibiting our ability to get people back to work so, yes, I do disagree with the governor," McConnell said.
McConnell also appeared to disagree with a bill that has been pre-filed for the 2022 Kentucky legislature that would restrict how issues related to racism and sexism can be taught in public schools. While he has been critical of history programs such as the 1619 Project that emphasize slavery, McConnell said government should not dictate what is taught in the classroom.
“I don't think the government is any better at prescribing what ought to be taught than the universities themselves,” he said. “But they ought to be open to criticism about that they're doing.”
The Senate Minority Leader expressed guarded optimism that Republicans can reach a deal with President Joe Biden on infrastructure spending.
“I'm hoping for the best that we can actually reach a bipartisan agreement,” he said.
The two sides are hundreds of millions of dollars apart on how much to spend and disagree on how to pay for it. Biden wants to increase corporate taxes, while McConnell recommends using billions of dollars in unallocated coronavirus relief funds.
“Wouldn't that be the best way to plug the gap between what the gas tax produces and what we'd like to do on a bipartisan basis for infrastructure?” McConnell said. “I think that's the key to getting a bipartisan agreement.”
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