House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday defended her decision not to allow two Republican lawmakers from serving on the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying their statements in the months after the deadly insurrection “make it impossible for them to exercise judgement.”
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Pelosi fielded a range of questions regarding her decision to strike two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s five picks to serve on the commission: Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
Pelosi said the two GOP lawmakers “have made statements and taken actions that I think would impact the integrity of the committee."
She also dismissed speculation that Jordan’s and Banks’s votes against certifying the election results played a role in her decision to strike them from the committee, noting that she did accapted McCarthy's pick of Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who voted to overturn the results of the election.
"The Republicans that they put on will have their own point of view,” Pelosi said. “Nobody is saying there should be [just] one point of view going into the committee.”
But when statements are so ridiculous “and fall into the realm of ‘you must be kidding,'" Pelosi added, “there’s no way they’re serving on the committee.”
The decision to strike Jordan and Banks has been met with scathing criticism by some Republicans – including McCarthy, who pulled his remaining three recommended candidates from consideration and threatened Wednesday to pursue an investigation of his own.
McCarthy, calling Pelosi’s decision an "egregious abuse of power," said that it's all or nothing, even though Pelosi accepted his recommendations of Reps. Nehls, Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.
"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," the California Republican said Thursday.
Unlike Nehls, Jordan and Banks, Armstrong and Davis voted to certify the election results.
"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," Pelosi said, adding: "This is deadly serious. This is about our Constitution."
It is unclear, for now, whether Pelosi will try and appoint other members to the panel, as she has the authority to do under committee rules. She left open the possibility, saying that there are other members who would like to participate. “We’ll see.”
One possibility is Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who was one of only two Republicans to vote in favor of setting up the committee in addition to Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who Pelosi appointed to the panel.
Cheney said she would support fellow Republican Kinzinger’s appointment if Pelosi goes that route. Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said he’d be open to anyone who doesn’t want to obstruct the work of the committee, and “I’m sure Kinzinger does not want to obstruct the work of the committee.”
The panel is also considering hiring former Rep. Denver Riggleman of Virginia, a Republican who has criticized Trump’s lies about election fraud, as an outside adviser, according to a person familiar with the committee’s work who was granted anonymity to discuss the private talks.
Cheney told reporters Wednesday she agrees with Pelosi’s decision to reject the two Republicans named by McCarthy.
“At every opportunity, the minority leader has attempted to prevent the American people from understanding what happened — to block this investigation,” Cheney said.
The panel is slated to hold its first hearing next week, with at least four rank-and-file police officers who battled rioters that day testifying about their experiences.
Pelosi also dismissed McCarthy’s threats of pursuing another investigation: "I'm not concerned. Let's not waste each other's time."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.