House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been involved in a very public dispute with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the appointments to the new Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol riot that Pelosi controls.
McCarthy submitted the names of five Republicans to serve on the panel, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). Pelosi rejected both, calling them “ridiculous” choices. Pelosi dismissively referred to their appointments as Republican “antics.”
Before Pelosi rejected Jordan and Banks, which led to the withdrawal of all five representatives he proposed, Pelosi appointed Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as one of her choices for the committee. Cheney is a very vocal opponent of President Trump, who supported both of his impeachments.
Pelosi has also appointed Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), another aggressively anti-Trump Republican house member, to the commission following McCarthy’s withdrawal of all of his appointments.
Now McCarthy said in his press conference on July 23 that he would not rule out removing Cheney from the powerful Armed Services Committee. He said, “‘I think it’s a conference decision. The conference will look at it.”
Earlier this year, Cheney was removed by the conference from a senior leadership position due to her criticism of President Trump and how she cast blame on him for the January 6 disturbance at the Capitol building.
President Trump has already announced his search for a Republican primary candidate challenging Cheney for the one Wyoming House seat in next year’s midterm election to support. Trump is expected to meet with candidates for the position in person before deciding who to endorse. His advisors have said that he needs to back the strongest possible candidate to prevent Cheney from winning the primary with a plurality vote.
The January 6 committee is expected to begin meeting this week. The slate chosen by Pelosi is expected to focus its attention on President Trump. Jordan and Banks were expected to ask for information about the Capitol Police and the D’s failures. Police Department that day, had they been permitted to serve.
