Senate Republicans blocked a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Only a handful of GOP senators joined with Democrats in backing the bipartisan legislation, which would create a 10-member panel to probe what led to the attack.
Republican leaders urged opposition to creating the panel as they downplay criticism of former President Donald Trump ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a bill that would create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, as Democrats and the GOP diverge over how best to probe the attack on the legislature and prevent another assault on the democratic process.
In a 54-35 vote, the measure failed to hit the threshold needed to overcome a filibuster as nearly all GOP senators opposed it. Six Republicans voted to advance the proposal: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. All of those senators but Portman voted in February to find former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection.
The vote likely snuffs out the creation of a panel Democrats and some Republicans have called vital to understanding what led to the violent attempt to disrupt the transfer of power to President Joe Biden. GOP leaders have contended the commission could duplicate existing efforts by the Justice
