Republicans in the Senate block the creation of a commission to investigate the assault on the Capitol

Republicans in the Senate on Friday blocked the creation of a special commission to investigate the assault on the Capitol on January 6.

The vote was 54 in favor and 35 against

, less than the 60 needed to move forward.

This is the first bill of the new Congress, controlled by the Democrats, that is frustrated by a filibusterism in the plenary session of the Senate.

Six Republican senators broke with their leadership and voted with 48 Democratic legislators to proceed to debate the bill: Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska;

Rob Portman, from Ohio;

Ben Sasse, from Nebraska;

Bill Cassidy, from Louisiana;

Mitt Romney, from Utah;

and Susan Collins from Maine.

Two Democrats were absent

.

Voting on the procedural motion was postponed until Friday because an unrelated bill pushed back the schedule.

While the bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, with the support of more than 35 Republicans, lawmakers from this Senate caucus believe the commission could be used against them.

Assault on the Capitol: a dramatic 4-hour timeline in 4 minutes

Jan. 9, 202104: 18

Still, a handful of Republicans were expected to vote in favor of pushing the bill through.

West Virginia Democratic Senator 

Joe Manchin 

criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican senators who oppose legislation to create the commission.

"

There is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission

, since the Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for," he noted on Twitter, a rare statement in which he attacked McConnell.

[100 days after the assault on the Capitol, what happened to those involved?]

Alaska Senator

Lisa Murkowski

said she will support the legislation because she needs to know more about what happened that day and why.

"The truth is somewhat difficult, but we have a responsibility to it," he

told reporters Thursday night.

"We can't pretend that nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excited. Something bad happened. And it's important to expose it."

[New and shocking images of the assault on the Capitol come to light]

Texas Republican Senator

John Cornyn

, who once supported the commission's idea, said he now believes Democrats are trying to use it as a political tool.

The fenced-in United States Capitol in Washington DC on March 15, 2021. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst

"I don't think this is the only way to get to the bottom of what happened

," Cornyn said, noting that Senate committees are also looking at the siege.

For his part, former President Donald Trump, who still has firm control of the party, has described it as a

"political trap."

President Joe Biden said Thursday in Cleveland:

"I can't imagine anybody voting against it."

With information from AP and NBC News.