House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has made his selection of five Republicans to join the select committee investigating January 6, ensuring that Republicans will have input in the investigation run by Democrats.
Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and freshman Troy Nehls of Texas have been selected by McCarthy, the minority leader confirmed to CNN. The group of House Republicans who were named to the select committee huddled in McCarthy’s office for a meeting on Monday evening.
When asked how he arrived at his selections, McCarthy said he carefully chose a mix of members who represent a wide swath of views inside the House GOP conference and can each bring a different area of expertise to the table because of their past jobs or current committee assignments.
“You’ve got a mix from the entire conference, from people who objected, people who didn’t object. … You’ve got people who authored the commission,” McCarthy told reporters. “So, you’ve got a microcosm of the conference.”
Some Republicans had called for McCarthy to boycott the committee all together, arguing that appointing GOP members would give more credibility to an investigation that they hope to paint as partisan.
But ultimately, McCarthy felt like it was important to have their side represented and “make sure you get the best people on the committee.”
