On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke at a press conference about recent developments regarding the committee that has been set up by the House to investigate the January attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The day prior, Pelosi rejected two picks by House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to serve on that committee, pointing to concern about the potential impact that the members could have on the integrity of the investigation. Those who Pelosi rejected included Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) — and in response, McCarthy withdrew all of his selections for the committee.
Pelosi insisted that GOP “antics” would not be allowed to stand in the way of the work of the riot investigation committee. Referring to Jordan and Banks, Pelosi commented as follows on Thursday:
‘They had made statements and taken actions that I think would impact the integrity of the committee. This is deadly serious. This is about our Constitution. It’s about our country. It’s about an assault on the Capitol that is being mischaracterized, for some reason, at the expense of finding the truth for the American people… It’s my responsibility as Speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth on this. And we will not let their antics stand in the way of that.’
Check out her remarks below:
Pelosi on rejecting Jordan & Banks for Jan 6 committee: "They had made statements & taken actions that I think would impact the integrity of the committee … it's my responsibility [to] make sure we get to the truth on this. We will not let their antics stand in the way of that" pic.twitter.com/U74etUYYs7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2021
Although McCarthy withdrew his selections for the committee, leaving it to continue its work with only Pelosi’s picks, there’s still one Republican onboard: Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.). Cheney was one of Pelosi’s choices for the panel. Since the Capitol riot, Cheney has repeatedly offered public criticism of Trump, from her post-riot vote to impeach him on a charge of incitement of insurrection to her denunciations of his lies about the integrity of last year’s presidential election, which he has falsely claimed was somehow rigged for Biden. Apparently, Pelosi is also considering naming Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — another Trump opponent — to the riot investigation panel.
After McCarthy petulantly withdrew all of his picks for the House riot investigation committee, Cheney spoke out against him. Referring to the possibility of McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House in the event that Republicans regain control of the chamber, Cheney said the following:
‘I think that any person who would be third in line to the presidency must demonstrate a commitment to the Constitution and a commitment to the rule of law, and Minority Leader McCarthy has not done that.’
Watch Cheney below:
Liz Cheney says she doesn't think Kevin McCarthy should be House Speaker.
"I think that any person who would be third in line to the presidency must demonstrate a commitment to the Constitution and a commitment to the rule of law and Minority Leader McCarthy has not done that." pic.twitter.com/jtB6BZtMjh
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 21, 2021
