Nancy Pelosi: I ‘Plan’ to Name Adam Kinzinger to Jan. 6 Committee
Kinzinger would join Rep. Liz Cheney as the second Republican on the committee. Kevin McCarthy pulled his recommendations after Pelosi rejected Jim Jordan and Jim Banks.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on Sunday morning that she intends to name another Republican to the House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, saying her “plan” was to choose Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
Last week, Pelosi made the unprecedented move of rejecting two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s appointments to the committee, claiming the inclusion of Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) was “ridiculous.”
Both congressmen have been vocal supporters of former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen and objected to Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.
McCarthy, meanwhile, pulled the other three Republicans he had recommended for the committee over Pelosi’s rejection of Jordan and Banks, leaving Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)—whom Pelosi herself had appointed to the group—as the only Republican. Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection, was recently booted from her GOP leadership position for pushing back against Trump’s election lies.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Pelosi said her confidence was “very high” that the committee’s work would be seen as credible despite Republicans’ refusal to participate in the process.
“I believe the work of this committee, in order to retain the confidence of the American people, must act in a way that has no partisanship, is all about patriotism and I’m very proud of the members of the committee and I’m certain they will accomplish that goal,” the speaker said. “We have to, again, ignore the antics of those who do not want to find the truth.”
Anchor George Stephanopoulos then asked Pelosi if she intended to appoint more Republicans to the committee, specifically singling out Kinzinger, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s stolen election rhetoric.
“That’s my plan,” she replied, prompting the ABC News host to wonder aloud when she’d make that announcement.
“Perhaps after I speak to Adam Kinzinger,” she declared. “You could say that that’s the direction that I would be going on.”
Hours after Pelosi's on-air remarks, Kinzinger’s place on the committee was made official. “He brings great patriotism to the Committee’s mission: to find the facts and protect our Democracy,” Pelosi said of the Illinois congressman in a statement announcing his appointment.
Kinzinger, for his part, said in a statement that he “humbly accepted” the appointment and that he “will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable.”
Just like Cheney, Kinzinger voted to impeach the ex-president over his role in inciting a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in order to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s election win. The Illinois congressman and Cheney were also the only House Republicans to vote for the formation of the Jan. 6 select committee, which was formed after the GOP blocked the creation of an independent commission to investigate the attack.