Pelosi Rejects Two GOP Appointments to Capitol Riot Committee; McCarthy Nixes Participation in Response

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) rejected the potential appointments of Representatives Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Jim Banks (R., Ind.) to a select committee on the January 6 Capitol riot, in a statement on Wednesday.

In response, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said he would pull all Republican members from the committee.

McCarthy initially recommended the two lawmakers along with Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, and Troy Nehls of Texas.

“The Select Committee on the January 6th Insurrection will investigate and report upon the facts and causes of the terrorist mob attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Pelosi said. “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.”

Banks said in a statement that Pelosi “is afraid of the facts.”

“I’m a sitting member of Congress and served my country in Afghanistan and the Speaker knows how hard I will fight for my country,” Banks said. “We said all along that this was a purely partisan exercise by the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi’s rejection of me and Jim Jordan shows once again she is the most partisan figure in America today.”

McCarthy called Pelosi’s decision an “egregious abuse of power.”

“Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts,” McCarthy said in a statement.

“It’s bulls***,” Armstrong commented. “Jim Banks and Jim Jordan have every right to serve on any committee Kevin appoints them to.”

The House passed a bill to create a select committee to investigate the Capitol riot at the end of June. Among Republicans, only Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois voted in favor of the bill.

Democrats have pushed for an investigation into the riot, during which a mob of supporters of former President Trump breached the Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College results. Lawmakers were forced to hide or evacuate for several hours while rioters moved through the Senate and House chambers, as well as lawmakers’ offices.