WASHINGTON (AP) — 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. 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.
Though the Jan. 6 commission bill passed the House earlier this month with the support of almost three dozen Republicans, GOP senators said they believe the commission would eventually be used against them politically. And Trump, who still has a firm hold on the party, has called it a “Democrat trap.”
The vote is emblematic of the profound mistrust between the two parties since the siege, especially among Republicans, as some in the party have downplayed the violence and defended the rioters who supported Trump and his false insistence that the election was stolen from him.
Four people died in the riot, and a police officer collapsed and died afterward of what authorities said were natural causes. Two police officers took their own lives in the days after the riots.
From Indiana, Sen. Mike Braun did not cast a vote on the matter, but released a statement that he was opposed. This is his statement:
“Those who breached the Capitol and committed horrific acts of violence on January 6 must be prosecuted, and all steps must be taken to prevent future security breaches and protect the men and women who protect the Capitol. To those ends, America’s most respected investigation entity – the FBI – is leading a world-class probe resulting in over 450 arrests so far and bringing a great deal of information about those who broke the law that day to light, and my Appropriations Subcommittee is digging deep into what the Capitol Police need to do their jobs safely and the Architect of the Capitol needs to prevent future attacks. I do not support the creation of a partisan commission that seeks to exploit this tragedy for political gain.” – Statement from Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.
