House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insisted Thursday she did not reject two of five Republican appointments to her Jan. 6 select committee due to their votes against certifying the 2020 election results.
Pelosi rejected Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jim Banks, R-Ind., after they were two of the five members submitted by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to serve on the select committee.
Pelosi said her decision to reject Jordan and Banks was based on the congressmen’s statements that "make it impossible for them to exercise judgment."
"As the legislation allows, I did not accept two of the five people who were appointed," Pelosi said at a press conference, Axios reported. "As they have made statements and taken actions that I think would impact the integrity of the committee, the work of the committee. This is deadly serious. This is about our Constitution."
Pelosi cited Banks' statement that he would investigate the Biden administration and Capitol leadership's response to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Following Pelosi’s refusal to allow Jordan and Banks to join the select committee, McCarthy pulled back his five submissions and threatened his own investigation.
The speaker created the committee to investigate events surrounding the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.
Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., also had been submitted by McCarthy. Nehls objected to the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
"Of the three [McCarthy picks] that I appointed, one of them voted against the ratification and the other two voted for it," Pelosi said. "Having said that, though, the other two [Jordan and Banks] made statements and took actions that just made it ridiculous to put them on such a committee seeking the truth."
Pelosi said she was not concerned about McCarthy’s threat to launch his own investigation.
"Let's not waste each other's time," she said.
Pelosi named eight members of the panel earlier this month — seven Democrats and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who has strongly criticized Trump and voted to impeach the former president.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.