House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rejected two Republicans tapped by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot select committee — Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks and House Judiciary Ranking Member Jim Jordan — a move that will likely cast doubt on the impartiality of the panel.
McCarthy announced he had selected Banks and Jordan as well as House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis of Illinois, Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas to serve on the committee on Monday.
But under the terms of the select committee, which passed largely along party lines in June after a bill to create a bipartisan commission was blocked in the Senate, Pelosi is able to veto McCarthy’s picks.
The panel is tasked with investigating the deadly riot at the Capitol when a pro-Trump mob breached the building in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
“Monday evening, the Minority Leader recommended 5 Members to serve on the Select Committee. I have spoken with him this morning about the objections raised about Representatives Jim Banks and Jim Jordan and the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation. I also informed him that I was prepared to appoint Representatives Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls, and requested that he recommend two other Members,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“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.”
Banks, who is seen as a rising star in the party, has been a close ally to Trump, having met with the former president in recent weeks. And Jordan served as one of Trump’s most prominent attack dogs during both impeachment proceedings.
Banks and Jordan, both staunch allies of former President Donald Trump, opted to challenge the results of the election.
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