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.
The measure failed to hit the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster as nearly all Republican senators opposed it.
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 Department and congressional committees to investigate the attack, which led to five deaths, including that of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick.
January 6, 2021 will be remembered as one of the ugliest single days in our nation’s history.#HR3233 – creating a commission to investigate January 6 – passed the House with significant bipartisan support and it deserves the same in the Senate. Vote YES: https://t.co/DMXcPvHfpl pic.twitter.com/XlvUQnY616
— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) May 27, 2021
HAPPENING NOW: U.S. Senate vote to instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the presence of absent senators to discuss plans for tonight's votes – LIVE on C-SPAN2 https://t.co/zwOlEG5GQ8 pic.twitter.com/FHf1kzV52Y
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 28, 2021