House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has reportedly decided on which five Republican lawmakers will serve on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Barring any objections from Pelosi, who has the final say, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., chair of the Republican Study Committee, will be the ranking member on the panel as McCarthy takes the high road instead of boycotting the committee altogether, as some Republicans suggested to avoid giving it any credibility.
He will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a staunch Trump ally who is the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., the ranking member on House Administration Committee, U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., who was one of seven House Republicans to sign a letter opposing the effort to object to the 2020 Electoral College, and U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, a freshman and a former county sheriff.
“You’ve got a mix from the entire conference, from people who objected, people who didn’t object. … You’ve got people who authored the commission,” the minority leader told reporters. “So, you’ve got a microcosm of the conference.”
McCarthy’s picks will join seven Democratic lawmakers plus U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who was hand-picked by Speaker Pelosi after being ousted from her position in House GOP leadership for her criticism of Trump. The special panel is chaired by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
McCarthy makes it official: pic.twitter.com/gElgbmeSd8
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) July 20, 2021
Banks, who joined with Donald Trump on his recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, and broke bread with the former president at his New Jersey golf resort, made it clear in a statement shared Monday night that he’ll ensure that the special committee takes a broad approach in its probe and pursue questions “so far ignored,” including “why was the Capitol unprepared and vulnerable to attack on January 6?”
He added that if Democrats “were serious about investigating political violence,” they’d also study “the hundreds of violent political riots last summer when many more innocent Americans and law-enforcement officers were attacked.”
“Make no mistake, Nancy Pelosi created this committee solely to malign conservatives and to justify the Left’s authoritarian agenda,” Banks said. “Even then, I will do everything possible to give the American people the facts about the lead up to January 6, the riot that day, and the responses from Capitol leadership and the Biden administration.”
“I will not allow this committee to be turned into a forum for condemning millions of Americans because of their political beliefs,” he added.
My statement on being appointed by @GOPLeader to serve as the Republican ranking member on the Select Committee to investigate Jan. 6: pic.twitter.com/dSJNF56EA9
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) July 19, 2021
The select committee is set to hold its first hearing in a matter of days and, par for the course, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., panned McCarthy’s picks, saying some of the GOP members were “in on” the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
AOC tweeted: “We need a Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th domestic terrorist attack. But we must also be careful about any Republicans that may serve on the committee. There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can’t have them be a part of the investigation.”
We need a Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th domestic terrorist attack.
But we must also be careful about any Republicans that may serve on the committee. There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can’t have them be a part of the investigation.
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) June 30, 2021
Seems Democrats took great exception to Jordon being on the committee, being that he has proven to be a real fighter in standing up to the party’s political machinations on Capitol Hill.
Here’s a quick sampling of the objections from Twitter:
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Please do not let anyone serve on the January 6th Select Committee who voted against the first bipartisan committee you had. Rep Jim Jordan would clearly serve only to turn the hearings into a circus.
cc @SpeakerPelosi @TeamPelosi https://t.co/8e2p5W4vur pic.twitter.com/s16mubkjf7
— Tomi T Ahonen Is T Squared (@tomiahonen) July 19, 2021
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Please use your veto power to keep jacketless jackass Jim Jordan off the January 6th select committee.
Please and thank you.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) July 20, 2021
Join us in calling on Speaker Pelosi to use her veto power.
We can’t let Jim Jordan and the seditionists turn this into a circus. https://t.co/DRDrFzlioW
— Jeff Sites for Congress (@Sites4Congress) July 19, 2021
Kevin McCarthy just announced his selections to serve on the January 6th Committee. FIVE WHITE MEN, three of whom voted not to verify the election, one of them is the despicable Jim “Gym” Jordan.
You know what to do Speaker Pelosi.
— Nick Walden Poublon (@NWPinPDX) July 19, 2021
If Madam Speaker Pelosi DOESN’T veto Jim Jordan off the commission, please remember how Liz Cheney treated him on January 6th…
Slapping him away: “𝙔𝙊𝙐 fucking did this!”
Yeah, we’re gonna need more of that.
— Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) July 20, 2021
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