Rep. Adam Kinzinger becomes second Republican on House committee probing Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol siege
Two Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump will be part of the special congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to the panel on Sunday, after fellow Trump foe Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, was tapped earlier.
“While this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer,” Kinzinger said in a statement.
“I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable,” he said.
Kinzinger and Cheney were among just 10 House Republicans who in February voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 siege, in which rabid supporters of the then-commander-in chief stormed the halls of Congress as lawmakers were certifying the presidential election. All told, the rioting claimed seven lives.
Kinzinger’s appointment was the latest in a series of controversial twists leading up to the investigation of the siege, expected to start this week.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California last week dismissed the probe as a “sham process” after Pelosi rejected two of his appointments, Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Pelosi pointed to their statements echoing Trump’s false claims that he actually won the election as grounds for keeping them out of the investigation.
McCarthy threatened repercussions for Republicans who do participate in the probe and said he wouldn’t rule out removing them from committee assignments.
Earlier this year, House Republicans stripped Cheney of her leadership role over her comments and actions against Trump.
McCarthy said on Sunday that the probe “will not yield a serious investigation” and was intended “to satisfy [Pelosi’s] political objectives.”
Earlier this month, all but two House Republicans voted against launching an investigation into “the facts, circumstances and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack.”
Pelosi initiated it after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission in their chamber.
“It is my responsibility as the speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth of this, and we will not let their antics stand in the way of that,” she said last week.
The panel is on track to have nine members when it meets for the first time on Tuesday.
It was originally intended to have five Republican members, but McCarthy withdrew all his appointments after Banks and Jordan were rejected.
First up to testify before the panel are police officers who fought the crazed Trump supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Some of the officers have lobbied Republican members of Congress to back the creation of the commission, which was intended to emulate the 9/11 probe.
“This select committee is our only remaining option,” Cheney said in a statement last month. “The committee should issue and enforce subpoenas promptly, hire skilled counsel, and do its job thoroughly and expeditiously.”
With News Wire Services
