House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking to add more anti-Trump Republicans to join a committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection, after the House GOP Minority Leader pulled his nominees from participating.
According to multiple sources, Pelosi is seriously considering adding Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to the committee.
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Kinzinger is one of ten House Republicans to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection. He has criticized House GOP leaders over their handling of the episode and its fallout, and is one of only two Republicans who voted in support of creating the committee last month.
Pelosi has appointed eight of 13 members to the select panel -- the only Republican thus far being Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a Trump critic. Cheney said Kinzinger would be a “tremendous addition" to the panel. Several Democrats on the panel also seemed to support the idea, according to the Associated Press, with Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi saying Kinzinger is “the kind of person we’d want to have."
When asked during a news conference Thursday morning if she would appoint other Republicans to sit on the panel alongside Cheney, Pelosi said, "We'll see." She added that "many" Republicans have expressed interest in joining the committee.
Kinzinger has not commented on his potential appointment.
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Republican House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, has called the committee a "sham process" and suggested that GOP lawmakers who take part could face consequences. On Wednesday, McCarthy pulled all five nominees he had tapped for the panel after Pelosi rejected two of his picks.
Pelosi has the authority to approve or reject members, per committee rules. She refused to accept the appointments of Indiana Rep. Jim Banks and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Both are outspoken Trump allies who pushed to overturn the presidential election results. She accepted the three other picks -- Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Texas Rep. Troy Nehls. But McCarthy said that all five or none would participate.
Pelosi has said the committee will push on with its investigation whether or not Republicans participate. The GOP, meantime, has pledged to conduct its own investigation.
The committee is set to hold its first hearing next week. Law enforcement and first responders are expected to testify about their experiences during the siege by supporters of the former president, the worst assault on the Capitol in two centuries.
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