Senate GOP blocks legislation on Jan. 6 commission
By Jordain Carney - 05/28/21 12:16 PM EDT
Senate Republicans on Friday blocked legislation to form a commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Senators voted 54-35 on the House-passed bill, falling short of the 10 GOP votes needed to get it over an initial hurdle and marking the first successful filibuster by Republicans in the 117th Congress.
GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine), Bill Cassidy (La.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) broke ranks and voted to advance the legislation.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) missed the vote because of a family commitment but a spokesperson said he would have supported advancing it "with the expectation that the Senate would consider, and Senator Toomey would have supported" GOP amendments.
Senate Republicans were widely expected to reject the legislation after days of publicly and privately warning that they believed the commission would damage them heading into the 2022 midterm election, keeping former President Trump and the attack — where a mob of his supporters breached the building — at the forefront.
“I do not believe the extraneous 'commission' that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing. Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed to,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the floor.
“That’s why the Speaker’s first draft began with a laughably rigged and partisan starting point, and why the current language would still lock in significant unfairness under the hood,” he added on Thursday.
McConnell did not speak ahead of Friday's vote.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/555755-senate-gop-block-legislation-on-jan-6-commission
