在一个引人注目的政治时刻，共和党人周五阻止参议院推进一项法案，该法案将建立一个两党独立委员会调查1月6日特朗普支持者在美国国会大厦的袭击。
六名共和党人以54票对35票加入了民主党人的行列，但这比开始关于建立一个委员会的辩论所需的60票少了六票，而这通常只需要简单的多数票就能在最终投票中通过。
投票结束后，参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)表示:“出于对唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的恐惧或忠诚，共和党少数派阻止了美国人民获得1月6日的全部真相。”
他说:“参议院共和党人选择为‘大谎言’辩护，因为他们认为任何可能让唐纳德·特朗普不安的事情都可能在政治上伤害他们。”
这位参议院领袖提醒共和党参议员，他们“都经历过1月6日的恐怖。”
Leah Millis/路透社
唐纳德·特朗普总统的支持者聚集在美国国会大厦前，警察站岗
“我离那些白人至上主义流氓不到30英尺。我的共和党同事还记得那天吗?
“我的共和党同事们还记得要求处决迈克·彭斯的野蛮暴民吗——国会大厦外的临时绞刑架?穿着防弹衣，系着拉链的人闯进参议院走廊，在你的办公桌上乱翻。警官在门道之间被压碎了?”他说。
奥利维尔·杜利里/法新社，通过盖蒂图像，文件
特朗普的支持者在华盛顿冲击美国国会大厦时与警察和安全部队发生冲突
“共和党试图掩盖那天的恐怖，因为他们害怕唐纳德·特朗普，这是可耻的，”他继续说。“我们的民主之所以长久存在，是因为领导人有诚意，即使他们不同意，即使政治代价是对真相的忠诚。”
“今天不是这样，”他总结道。
没有共和党人发言。
Win Mcnamee/Win Mcnamee/Getty Images，FILE
2021年1月6日，华盛顿，一名抗议者悬挂在参议院的阳台上
尽管已经去世的国会警察布莱恩·西克尼克的母亲格拉迪斯·西克尼克周四在国会山一个办公室接一个办公室地走，但这项立法似乎注定要失败。恳求参议院共和党人支持佣金。
J.斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社
美国国会警察布莱恩·西克尼克的母亲格拉迪斯·西克尼克因伤去世
民主党需要10名共和党人加入他们来克服共和党的阻挠，但只有森斯。米特·罗姆尼犹他州的苏珊·科林斯、缅因州的穆尔科斯基、阿拉斯加州的本·萨斯、俄亥俄州的罗布·波特曼和路易斯安那州的比尔·卡西迪投票赞成这项立法。
一夜之间，穆尔科斯基抨击了参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)和她的其他政党领导人，称他们允许政治考虑左右他们的决定。
“在1月6日，为了短期的政治利益做出决定，而牺牲了对摆在我们面前的事物的理解和认知，我认为我们需要...批判性地看待这个问题，”穆尔科斯基说。“这真的是一切都只是一个接一个的选举周期，还是我们要承认，作为一个基于我们如此珍视的民主原则的国家?”
曼努埃尔·巴尔奇·塞内塔/美联社档案
当暴徒面对美国国会大厦里坡时，烟雾弥漫在参议院外的走道上
萨斯、卡西迪、罗姆尼、科林斯和穆尔科斯基也投票判定前总统唐纳德·特朗普在国会大厦袭击中“煽动叛乱”。
周四，在即将对该委员会进行程序性投票之前，参议院在一项与中国竞争力无关的法案上陷入了一系列程序性困境，时间长达数小时，而总统乔·拜登称体重。
拜登在克利夫兰停下来吃冰淇淋时对记者说:“我无法想象有人投票反对成立一个委员会，调查自内战以来国会大厦发生的最大袭击。”。
这项措施将建立一个由10名成员组成的外部小组，由他们平分秋色，深入研究骚乱的起因和1月6日发生的事情，每一方都与同等数量的工作人员分享传票权力。
肖恩·休/环保局通过Shutterstock
参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔边走边回答记者的问题
麦康奈尔和他的众议院共和党对手凯文·麦卡锡上周宣布反对该法案，为两院的共和党人拒绝该法案提供了政治掩护，众议院批准了该法案，35名共和党人和民主党人一起投了赞成票。
麦康奈尔(McConnell)、麦卡锡(McCarthy)和大多数普通共和党人表示，他们担心民主党人会试图利用委员会的政治优势，将任何调查结果拖到至关重要的2022年中期选举年，届时两院的控制权都岌岌可危。
但民主党人反驳说，共和党人反对的真正原因是他们依赖特朗普，特朗普的支持者带头攻击国会大厦。
Senate Republicans use filibuster to kill Jan. 6 commission
In a remarkable political moment, Republicans on Friday blocked the Senate from moving forward on a bill that would establish abipartisan, independent commissionto investigate the Jan. 6 assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.
Six Republicans joined Democrats in the 54-35 vote, but that fell six votes short of the 60 needed to start debate on establishing a commission -- which then, normally, would require only a simple majority to pass in a final vote.
"Out of fear or fealty to Donald Trump, the Republican minority just prevented the American people from getting the full truth about January 6," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said right after the vote.
"Senate Republicans chose to defend the 'big lie' because they believe anything that might upset Donald Trump could hurt them politically," he said.
The Senate leader reminded GOP senators they "all lived the horrors of January 6."
"I was no further than 30 feet from those white supremacist hooligans. Do my Republican colleagues remember that day?
"Do my Republican colleagues remember the savage mob calling for the execution of Mike Pence -- the makeshift gallows outside the Capitol? Men with bulletproof vests and zip ties, breaking into the Senate gallery and rifling through your desks. Police officers crushed between doorways?" he said.
"Shame on the Republican Party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they're afraid of Donald Trump," he continued. "Our democracy has long endured because leaders have good faith, even if they disagreed even if political cost shared a fidelity to the truth."
"Not so today," he concluded.
No Republican spoke.
The legislation had seemed doomed despite Gladys Sicknick, the mother of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, going from office to office on Capitol Hill Thursday,pleading with Senate Republicansto support a commission.
Democrats needed 10 Republicans to join them to overcome the GOP filibuster but only Sens.Mitt Romneyof Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana voted to advance the legislation.
Overnight, Murkowski slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other of her party leaders, saying they allowed political considerations to dictate their decision.
"To be making a decision for the short-term political gain at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us, on Jan. 6, I think we need ... to look at that critically," Murkowski said. "Is that really what this is about is everything is just one election cycle after another, or are we going to acknowledge that as, as a country that is based on these principles of democracy that we hold so dear?"
Sasse, Cassidy, Romney, Collins, and Murkowski also voted to convict former President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection" in the Capitol assault.
While the Senate was tied up for hours on Thursday in a series of procedural knots on an unrelated bill dealing with China's competitiveness ahead of an upcoming procedural vote on the commission, PresidentJoe Bidenweighed in.
"I can't imagine anyone voting against the establishing of a commission on the greatest assault since the Civil War on the Capitol," Biden told reporters while stopping for ice cream in Cleveland.
The measure would have established an evenly-split 10-member outside panel to delve into the origins of the riot and what happened on Jan. 6, each side sharing subpoena power with an equal number of staff on each side.
McConnell and his House GOP counterpart, Kevin McCarthy, provided political cover for Republicans in both chambers to reject the legislation by announcing their opposition last week, ahead of the House approving the measure with 35 Republicans joining Democrats to vote yes.
McConnell, McCarthy and most rank-and-file Republicans have said they feared Democrats would try to make political hay out of a commission, dragging out any findings into the crucial 2022 midterm election year, when control of both chambers is at stake.
But Democrats counter that the real reason for Republicans' opposition is that they are beholden to Trump, whose supporters spearheaded the Capitol assault.
