How Hopes for a Bipartisan Jan. 6 Commission Fell Apart

A full accounting of the Capitol riot, with backing from both parties, is harder than ever to envision.

Republicans have so far shown neither a will nor a way to knock Donald Trump out of his position as the de facto leader of the party. And for the time being, that means they’re stuck blocking for him. Just weeks ago, it looked as if a solid chunk of Republican legislators might be willing to support a commission to investigate the Capitol riot of Jan. 6. Some establishment G.O.P. strategists and former lawmakers have said they see this as an opportunity to make a clean break with Trump (though, admittedly, we’ve heard that one before) by giving a full account of the role that he and his allies played in the events around the violence at the Capitol.