Senate Republicans Block Plan For An Independent Commission On Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
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Bipartisan legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has failed in the Senate as Republicans staged their first filibuster since President Biden took office to block the plan.
The final vote was 54-35, but Republicans withheld the votes necessary to bring the bill up for debate. Just six GOP senators joined with the Democrats on Friday, leaving the measure short of the 60 votes needed to proceed.
The proposed commission was modeled on the one established to investigate the 9/11 attacks — with 10 commissioners, five Democrats and five Republicans, who would have subpoena powers. A Democratic chair and Republican vice chair would have had to approve all subpoenas, with a final report due at the end of the year.
The House approved the measure 252-175 last week, with 35 Republicans joining all Democrats in support of the plan.
But Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were deeply skeptical of the commission in the days leading up to the vote. McConnell has dismissed the proposal as a "purely political exercise," given that two Senate committees are already looking into the events of Jan. 6. In remarks from the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell called into question how much more a commission would be able to unearth.
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