House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled all of his selections from the January 6 committee after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his choices.
McCarthy accused Pelosi of an “egregious abuse of power” during a news conference on Wednesday and said that the House Speaker “has broken this institution.”
“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,” McCarthy said.
The committee was established to investigate the deadly January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Representative Liz Cheney was selected by Pelosi and is the only Republican on the committee.
McCarthy nominated Republican Representatives Jim Jordan, Jim Banks, Rodney Davis, Kelley Armstrong, and Troy Nehls.
Earlier in the day, Pelosi announced she had vetoed his choice of Jordan and Banks.
“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,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
The two Congressmen are allies of Donald Trump and objected to the certification of the presidential election in January.
“Speaker Pelosi just admitted the obvious, that the January 6th Select Committee is nothing more than a partisan political charade,” Representative Jordan said.
Republicans have whitewashed and downplayed the events that took place on January 6. A majority of House Republicans were against the committee and the initial legislation failed in the Senate when GOP Senators voted against it.
“The speaker is making clear we’re going to have a serious comprehensive investigation. This will not be just another run-of-the-mill, partisan food fight,” Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the select committee, said.
