On a procedural vote today, the U.S. Senate could not get 60 votes to override a filibuster of the proposed "Investigate Jan. 6 Capitol Riot" commission. The vote was 54 to 35. Thus no such commission will be formed. As yet, Democrat threats to ban the filibuster have remained just that.
Minority Leader McConnell opposed the measure and 34 other Republican senators voted with him. Six Republican senators - Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Rob Portman of Ohio - voted with all but one of the Democrats in favor of the commission.
I expect at least three senators who voted for the measure to face primary opponents if they run for reelection. The newly reelected Cassidy, Collins, and Sasse don't face reelection until 2026, by which time this vote will seem ancient political history, unless of course Trump wins reelection in 2024 - not an impossibility.
Later ... It turns out 10 Republicans and one Democrat chose not to vote. The Democrat no-show is someone else's problem. I suppose McConnell gave the 10 Republicans a pass as he didn't need them to block the motion, perhaps he had to work hard to get them to abstain instead of voting "yes."
I'd judge those 6+10=16 Republican Senators were uncomfortable with at least some of Trump's post-election actions. Only 6 of the 16 were willing to go on the record as feeling that way.
The party will decide how to view the 10 "abstains" going forward. My view of them is they want to have it both ways, to remain politically viable whether or not the party eventually repudiates Trump as the Bush/Cheney/Romney wing wishes.
