Republicans in the U.S. Senate are expected Thursday to block legislation calling for the creation of a panel to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol aimed at preventing the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory over Donald Trump.Trump implored thousands of supporters who had come to Washington for a protest rally “to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat shortly before the riot that left five people dead, including a federal police officer.Republicans are expected to use a procedural tactic known as a filibuster to block the bill which would launch a bipartisan investigation into the insurrection. If Republicans get their way, it would be the first successful use of a filibuster in the Biden presidency to stop Senate legislative action.The filibuster requires a super majority of senators, meaning 60 of the upper chamber’s 100 members must support blocking the measure. Because the 100-member Senate is equally divided, Democrats would need 10 Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.That is unlikely because many Republican senators remain loyal to Trump and are expected to follow Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell, who once said Trump was responsible for “provoking” the riot, has more recently dismissed the legislation as nothing more than a “political exercise” since Senate committees are already investigating security shortcomings.The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, which has 435 voting members, previously passed the legislation with some Republican support.
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