July 21, 2021

Election deniers chosen for January 6 commission


  • Jim Jordan.

  • House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his five picks to serve on the select committee to investigate the January 6 Capitol riot — Reps. Kelly Armstrong (ND), Jim Banks (IN), Rodney Davis (IL), Jim Jordan (OH), and Troy Nehls (TX). [The Week / Catherine Garcia]
  • Unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoes the picks, the five Republicans  will serve on the committee alongside her eight appointees. Pelosi also named a Republican as one of her appointees, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). [NPR / Alana Wise]
  • McCarthy said his appointees were intentionally chosen to represent various views within the GOP caucus and due to experience with oversight, either on past committees or their pre-Congress jobs. [CNN / Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona]
  • Three of the five picks — Banks, Jordan, and Nehls — voted against certifying the 2020 election, contributing to the Big Lie that spurred the attack on the Capitol. Jordan, in particular, is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and a fierce Trump loyalist known as the Republicans’ oversight bull. [The Hill / Scott Wong]
  • Davis, who is more moderate, was one of 35 Republicans to support the creation of an independent, bipartisan January 6 commission. That effort ultimately failed in the Senate, lacking the support of 10 Republicans. [The Washington Post / Jaclyn Peiser]
  • None of the five supported the second impeachment of President Trump. Banks, the chair of the Republican Study Committee, already released a statement saying, as other Republicans have repeated, that the commission should investigate antifa and last summer’s protests over racism. [USA Today / Katie Wadington]
  • The committee will begin holding hearings on July 27. Capitol police officers who were on duty that day will be called as witnesses. [Forbes / Andrew Solender]