GOP Blocks Jan. 6 Investigation

The Senate vote was 54-35, short of the 60 votes needed to consider a House-passed bill that would have formed a 10-member bipartisan commission.

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked the creation of a bipartisan panel to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, refusing to back down on their opposition to the independent investigation even amid emotional appeals from those who fought with and fled from the rioters that day. The Senate vote was 54-35, short of the 60 votes needed to consider a House-passed bill that would have formed a 10-member commission evenly split between the two parties. Democrats needed 10 Republicans to vote yes to begin consideration, but got only six. The vote was another sign of GOP fealty to former President Donald Trump and an overtly political effort to shift the focus off of the violent insurrection of his supporters.