Many Republican senators earlier spoke out against passing the bill, citing already existing committees probing those events and the need to “move forward” instead of focusing on past events.
US Senators have blocked consideration of a bill designed to create a bipartisan 10-member commission to investigate the events that took place in Washington on 6 January. Only 54 Senators supported the motion, with 35 objecting to it. However, it needs to gather the support of at least 60 members of the upper chamber of Congress to be passed.
A total of six Republicans supported the motion to consider the bill as well as all the Democrats present. However, many Senators were absent during the vote, including two Democrats. Prior to the voting, at least four GOP members mulled supporting the motion to consider the 6 January Commission Act. It was expected that all Democrats in the Senate will vote in favour of the bill, which had earlier passed the House with the support of practically all Democrats and several Republicans.
The GOP’s filibuster of the measure, a mechanism that prevents bills from moving forward to a vote without the support of at least 60 senators, was anticipated in light of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opposing the initiative to form the commission and very few Republicans supporting it. McConnell argued that several congressional committees are already probing the events in addition to a federal investigation, which had already identified over 440 people responsible for the riot.
