Jul 26, 2021 - Politics & Policy

House rejects GOP effort to seat McCarthy's choices for Jan. 6 select panel

Shawna Chen

Photo of Kevin McCarthy at the podium — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during a January press conference at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Win McNamee via Getty Images

The House on Monday voted 218-197 to defeat Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's attempt to seat his preferred members for the Jan. 6 select committee.

Why it matters: Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vetoed two of the five Republicans McCarthy named to the panel, citing their vote against the certification of the 2020 election. McCarthy has since threatened to launch a parallel GOP investigation if she does not allow his picks.

The House vote comes a day before the panel's first hearing, which will feature testimonies from four police officers who were injured during the Capitol insurrection.

State of play: Last week, Pelosi vetoed McCarthy's decision to name Reps. Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) to the panel, arguing they would jeopardize the investigation.

In response, McCarthy boycotted the committee and introduced a resolution to formally "condemn the refusal" of Pelosi to seat all five of his picks.
Her refusal "directly harms the legitimacy, credibility and integrity of the proceedings of the select committee," the resolution states.

Of note: Pelosi has now tapped Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who voted to impeach the president, to fill in one of the vacancies. He joins Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), one of Pelosi's original eight picks for the panel.

Both voted with Democrats to table McCarthy's resolution.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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House rejects GOP effort to seat McCarthy's choices for Jan. 6 select panel

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