House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rejected two Republican nominees to sit on a committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, suggesting they would harm the integrity of the probe.
“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 [Jim] Banks and [Jim] Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision,” she said.
Later Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responded by withdrawing all five nominees.
“Speaker Pelosi has taken the unprecedented step of denying the minority party’s picks for the Select Committee on Jan. 6,” McCarthy said in a statement. “This represents something that has not happened in the House before for a select committee. … Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts.”
On January 6, former President Donald Trump implored thousands of supporters who had come to Washington for a Save America March to “fight like hell” to overturn the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Five people, including a federal police officer, died in connection with the subsequent riot at the Capitol.
Hours after the insurrection, Banks and Jordan voted to overturn Biden’s win.
Pelosi, who has the authority to approve or reject members, said she accepted McCarthy’s other nominees, Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls. Armstrong and Davis voted to certify Biden’s victory.
Pelosi created the 13-member committee after House Republicans rejected earlier plans to create a bipartisan committee to investigate the insurrection.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
