WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rejecting the appointment of Indiana Rep. Jim Banks and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday that she would not accept either man on the committee.
Reps. Banks and Jordan are considered to be close allies of former President Trump. Both Banks and Jordan voted to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
“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 Reps. Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi stated.
Rep. Banks released the following statement after Pelosi’s announcement:
“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. We said all along that this was a purely partisan exercise by the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi’s rejection of me and Jim Jordan shows once again she is the most partisan figure in America today.
The American people deserve the truth. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi is afraid of the facts.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has pulled all five Republican members from the Committee in response to Pelosi’s decision.
“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.
