In an unprecedented display of partisanship, Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rejected Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana from sitting on her 13-member January 6 commission.
In a statement riddled with overdramatic claims and lies that the Capitol riot was “the worst domestic assault on American Democracy since the Civil War” and a “terrorist mob attack,” Pelosi declared that two of the five Republicans House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy nominated to sit on the partisan committee were not good enough.
“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,” she wrote.
So Jim Jordan gets to be the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, but he's unacceptable to participate in the 1/6 commission? Nancy Pelosi has lost her mind.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) July 21, 2021
Pelosi did not specifically state why she is opposed to keeping Jordan and Banks, both of whom voted against certifying the 2020 election, onboard but she did criticize the GOP for refusing to support the 9/11-style commission. She also implied that the Republican legislators would not fulfill her wishes to conduct a “comprehensive investigation as to who organized this attack, who paid for it, how they nearly succeeded in overthrowing a presidential election, why they did it, and how we must organize ourselves to prevent anything like it from ever happening again.”
“The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision,” she concluded before recommending the minority leader provide two alternate nominations for the committee.
Banks rejected Pelosi’s comments and said her decision reinforced fears that “this was a purely partisan exercise by the Democrats.”
“I’m a sitting member of Congress and served my country in Afghanistan and the Speaker knows how hard I will fight for my country…Nancy Pelosi’s rejection of me and Jim Jordan shows once again she is the most partisan figure in America today,” he said in a statement. “The American people deserve the truth. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi is afraid of the facts.”
Pelosi confirmed that she approved of McCarthy’s other picks for the commission including Reps. Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong, and Troy Nehls.
McCarthy called the decision by the Democrat speaker’s decision “an egregious abuse of power” and pointed out the absurdity of rejecting legislators who are already ranking members on committees.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken the unprecedented step of denying the minority party’s picks for the Select Committee on January 6. This represents an egregious abuse of power and will irreparably damage this institution. 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,” he said in a statement.
McCarthy also warned that “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.”
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.
My full statement: https://t.co/RmgeBFo41j
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 21, 2021
Rep. Elise Stefanik, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney in GOP House leadership, weighed in and called Pelosi “a radical authoritarian Speaker of the House.”
“The American people have always known the truth – that the Pelosi partisan January 6th commission was never about investigating the facts, it was only ever about Pelosi’s radical politics and the Left’s endless obsession with crushing any discussion or debate. This commission is an absolute sham and has been a disgrace from the beginning; no amount of drooling excuses from the mainstream media will change that,” Stefanik said, questioning what Pelosi is “so afraid of.”
The Republican also called for Pelosi’s firing and removal as Speaker.
