Pelosi Rejects Two of McCarthy's Picks for January 6th Select Committee

What’s the story?

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) notified Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Wednesday that she is rejecting two of the five lawmakers he picked to serve on the House’s select committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
• In a letter, Pelosi said that she is denying the selections of Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who was slated to serve as the panel’s top GOP member, and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH):

“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. The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”

• Pelosi’s move is a departure from standard House precedent, in which the party leaders choose the members of their party who will serve on a committee. 
• The resolution which established the January 6th select committee gave the speaker the power to reject any of the selections made by the minority leader, which led to it being opposed by nearly all House Republicans. The only GOP members who voted in favor were Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was chosen by Pelosi with one of her eight picks for the committee, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
• McCarthy released a statement which called Pelosi’s “unprecedented” move an “egregious abuse of power” and added:

“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. 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.”

• The speaker indicated in her statement that McCarthy’s three other selections could serve on the committee and asked him for two new members to replace Banks and Jordan. Pelosi said that if McCarthy pulls the other nominees, “We have a bipartisan quorum, we can proceed.”
• Pelosi told reporters that voting against certification of electoral votes was not the criteria she used in determining which members could serve on the committee, which is why Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) wasn’t rejected along with Banks and Jordan. Some of the panel’s Democrats have raised objections to Electoral College results in the past, including Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) in 2005 and panel member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) in 2017.
• The select committee is expected to hold its first hearing next week with only Pelosi's picks on the panel, where lawmakers will hear from several Capitol Police officers in their personal capacity.

RELATED READING

• McCarthy Announces GOP Picks for January 6th Select Committee
• Pelosi Picks Democrats & Liz Cheney for January 6th Select Committee
• Should the House Form a Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol?

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Pelosi: U.S. Embassy Ghana via Flickr / Public Domain | McCarthy: Trump White House Archive photo by Andrea Hanks via Flickr / Public Domain)