Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Mark Wilson | Getty Images
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday selected five House Republicans to sit on the select committee that will investigate the January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol.
The California Republican nominated five of the 13 members of the House Special Committee, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the final say on which MPs McCarthy can appoint.
McCarthy’s selection includes Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Who will serve as the highest-ranking member of the panel. Other members include Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois., Rep. Kelley Armstrong, RN.D. and freshman Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas.
The most famous of the five MPs is likely Jordan, who is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of Conservative MPs. In January, Jordan helped in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the House of Representatives from indicting Trump of inciting the January 6 insurrection.
McCarthy’s picks arrive just the day before the committee’s first hearing, which will be attended by witnesses from the U.S. Capitol Police Department and Metropolitan Police Department. It also comes days after McCarthy met Trump at the former president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
In an article published on Monday, Trump was quoted as saying he wanted the same thing as the rioters: overthrow President Joe Biden’s election victory.
The committee hearings come more than six months after the violent uprising in which Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Biden’s victory.
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The five Republicans chosen by McCarthy are not the only GOP members on the panel. Earlier this month, Pelosi appointed Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. as one of their eight options.
Cheney was one of two GOP officials who voted to set up the committee last month. She was also one of ten Republicans who voted for impeachment against Trump in January.
The decision to vote for Cheney was noteworthy, especially as McCarthy reportedly threatened to withdraw committee seats from GOP officials if they accepted an appointment to the Pelosi board, according to NBC news.
Pelosi also appointed Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. To chair the panel. Other members include Democratic MPs Pete Aguilar, Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren from California, Jamie Raskin from Maryland, Elaine Luria from Virginia, and Stephanie Murphy from Florida.
The formation of the panel has been a focus of debate between Democrats and Republicans.
The special committee passed a 222-190 majority last month after Senate Republicans blocked an earlier bill that would have created an independent commission to investigate the insurrection.
Many GOP leaders claimed that the special committee would only duplicate the existing efforts of the Department of Justice and the standing congressional committees to investigate the attack on the Capitol.
The committee will investigate what caused the attack on the Capitol, including investigating law enforcement activities and the technological factors that may have led to the event. It will also publish a report on its findings and provide information on how to prevent further attempts to disrupt the transfer of power.
