McCarthy warns Cheney could lose committees after Pelosi appointment to Jan. 6 body
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Rep. Liz Cheney's days holding committee assignments in the House may be numbered.
The Wyoming Republican on Thursday was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to sit on a Democratic-controlled select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Cheney, recently ousted from her House Republican leadership role over insufficient fealty to former President Donald Trump, could now face further backlash from her GOP colleagues. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday laid the groundwork of an argument that could lead to Cheney getting booted of her committee assignments, where many bills are written and much of Congress's nitty-gritty work gets done.
“I'm not threatening anybody with committee assignments,” the Republican leader insisted in a press conference on Thursday. But he said, “It was shocking to me that if a person is Republican, they get their committee assignments from the Republican conference. For somebody to accept committee assignments from Speaker Pelosi — that's unprecedented.”
He added of Cheney: “It would seem to me, since I didn't hear from her, maybe she's closer to [Pelosi] than us. I don't know.”
Cheney is a member of the Committee on Armed Services.
The House on Wednesday approved a Democratic-controlled select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, with Cheney being one of only two Republicans to vote in favor of creating it.
LIZ CHENEY TO SERVE AS LONE REPUBLICAN ON JAN. 6 RIOT
Unlike a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission proposal that previously passed the House and was blocked by Republicans in the Senate, Pelosi’s commission denies Republicans have control over subpoenas and staff and has no set deadline to deliver a report. It allows Pelosi to appoint 13 members, with five of those being appointed after “consultation” with McCarthy.
Pelosi on Thursday announced eight appointments to the committee, which included Cheney, whom Republicans removed from her No. 3 leadership position in the House following her outspoken criticism of Trump and vote to impeach him for inciting the Capitol riot.
“We are committed to doing something that honors the vision of our founders,” Pelosi said. “It’s going to be high-level and justify the support of the American people. It’s not political.”
In a statement, Cheney said that she was "honored to have been named to serve" on the committee. "Our oath to the Constitution, our commitment to the rule of law, and the preservation of the peaceful transfer of power must always be above partisan politics.”
McCarthy noted that when New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew switched parties to join Republicans in the last Congress, he lost his committee assignments from Pelosi and then came to the Republican conference to get new committee assignments. Similarly, when former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash left the Republican Party and became an independent, he lost his committee assignments from the Republican conference and then got committee assignments from Pelosi.
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“I don't know in history where someone would go get their committee assignments from the speaker and expect them to have them from the conference as well,” McCarthy said.
Asked if he regrets not supporting the original Jan. 6 commission bill now that Pelosi created a partisan committee that gives Republicans virtually no power, McCarthy said: "No. I regret the politics of Nancy Pelosi."
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Tags: News, Congress, House GOP, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi
Original Author: Emily Brooks
Original Location: McCarthy warns Cheney could lose committees after Pelosi appointment to Jan. 6 body
