Republican senators are privately worried the Capitol riot commission will distract them from their midterm campaigns, making it all but doomed in the Senate

• The House voted on Wednesday to create a commission investigating the Capitol riot.
• It's unlikely to pass the Senate.
• GOP senators are reportedly concerned a commission would be "weaponized" by Dems in the midterms.
• See more stories on Insider's business page .

Some GOP senators oppose the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol riot because they fear it will distract from their 2022 midterm campaigns, Republican whip Sen. John Thune has said.

Thune told CNN on Wednesday that there was concern among members that a commission "could be weaponized politically and drug into next year."

"I want our midterm message to be on the kinds of things that the American people are dealing with: That's jobs and wages and the economy and national security, safe streets and strong borders - not re-litigating the 2020 elections," Thune told CNN.

"A lot of our members, and I think this is true of a lot of House Republicans, want to be moving forward and not looking backward. Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 elections I think is a day lost on being able to draw a contrast between us and the Democrats' very radical left-wing agenda."

Axios also reported that GOP senators had expressed concern that the commission could spill into the midterm election cycle, and said it would be unnecessary given that other such investigations were already being conducted by law-enforcement agencies including the FBI.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed opposition to the creation of a commission.

"After careful consideration, I've made the decision to oppose the House Democrats' slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January 6th," McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Despite 35 House Republicans' voting with Democrats to approve the commission on Wednesday, the opposition in the Senate GOP means the commission is highly unlikely to secure the filibuster-proof majority needed for it to pass the upper chamber.

Under a deal brokered by Democrats and Republicans in the House last week, the commission would comprise five Republicans and five Democrats, and would report its findings in December.

But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy last week withdrew support for the scheme, saying it contained no plans to investigate violence by left-wing activists.

If the proposal fails in the Senate, Democrats reportedly plan to establish a special House committee to investigate the riot.