Pelosi Rejects Republicans Jordan, Banks for Jan. 6 Inquiry

(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s choices for a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, sparking a threat by the chamber’s top Republican to pull out of the inquiry entirely.

Pelosi, who has final say over the 13-member committee’s composition, said she informed McCarthy she wouldn’t accept his recommendation that Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana join the panel and requested he select two new members.

“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”

McCarthy, who had previously cast the select committee’s creation as a political tool for Democrats to go after Republicans and former President Donald Trump, called Pelosi’s action an “egregious abuse of power.”

“Denying the voices of members who have served in the military and law enforcement, as well as leaders of standing committees, has made it undeniable that this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility and shows the Speaker is more interested in playing politics than seeking the truth,” the California Republican said in a statement.

Pelosi said she is prepared to appoint Republican Representatives Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Troy Nehls of Texas. But McCarthy said that unless Pelosi seats all five of his nominees, “Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts.”

Banks and Jordan are two vocal Trump supporters who voted to challenge certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory on the day of the attack on the Capitol.

Jordan on Wednesday said Pelosi’s action shows the committee is “a partisan political charade.” Banks, who would have been the ranking Republican on the panel, said in a statement earlier this week that Pelosi “created this committee solely to malign conservatives and to justify the Left’s authoritarian agenda.”

Pelosi has already named her eight choices to the panel, including Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi as the chairman. She has picked one Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, to serve.

The committee’s first meeting is scheduled for next week. Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesperson, said the meeting will still happen.

Pelosi moved to create the select committee to investigate the insurrection by supporters of Trump after Senate Republicans blocked creation of an independent commission to conduct an inquiry. The violence unfolded as both chambers were meeting to certify electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.

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