THE STORMING of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 (Wikipedia).

A proposal to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was blocked Friday as Democrats could not muster enough votes to stop a filibuster.

Republican leadership in the Senate opposed the inquiry, claiming it was a political ploy to embarrass their party. Under Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster. Six Republicans did join with Democrats, but the 54-35 tally fell short.

“I do not believe the additional extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, according to The New York Times.

“Do my Republican colleagues remember that day?” ask Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate majority leader. “Do my Republican colleagues remember the savage mob calling for the execution of Mike Pence, the makeshift gallows outside the Capitol?”

Eleven senators – nine Republicans and two Democrats – missed the vote, according to the Associated Press. The AP termed it, “an unusually high number of absentees for one of the highest–profile votes of the year.”

The Capitol was stormed by right-wing extremists seeking to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College’s vote to make Joe Biden and Kamala Harris president and vice president.