On Friday, May 28, 2021, the Senate came to a vote of 54 to 35 on a bill that would create an independent inquiry to investigate the assault on the US Capitol building on January 6.
The vote came short of a needed 60 senate votes on a bill that had passed the House last week. With six Republicans (Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ben Sasse of Nebraska) voting with Democrats and 11 senators not voting at all.
The 11 senators that did not vote on the bill:
- Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
- Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri
- Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana
- Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina
- Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma
- Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington
- Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho
- Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota
- Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama
- Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona
- Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Senate Republicans exercised their first legislative filibuster of the Biden presidency on Friday to block debate on a bill that would establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol building.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of being “enveloped” by former president Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election following Friday’s vote.
Minority Leader McConnell organized GOP opposition to the bill this week, calling the commission “extraneous” on Thursday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not rule out appointing a select committee to investigate the Capitol attack, according to CBS News.
GOP lawmakers expressed early opposition to the formation of the January 6 commission in spite of support from a handful of their fellow Senate Republicans, exercising the first filibuster of the Biden era.
The speaker “hasn’t ruled out” the formation of a select committee to probe the January 6 US Capitol attack, according to CBS News. He has yet to respond to the Senate decision on Friday.
Senator Joe Manchin criticized his GOP colleagues on Friday and apologized for the chamber’s inability to move the measure forward. The West Virginia Democrat dismissed the idea on Thursday of killing the Senate filibuster to pass the commission bill.
