McCarthy taps 5 Republicans to serve on January 6 select committee
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday tapped five Republicans to serve on the select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, multiple people familiar with the decision told CBS News.
McCarthy chose Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana to serve as the ranking member, with Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and freshman Troy Nehls of Texas filling the remaining four GOP-controlled seats on the committee.
The decision came more than two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had named seven Democrats and Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney to the committee. When Democrats scheduled the committee's first hearing for next week, McCarthy appeared to be running out of time.
During a news conference this month, McCarthy told CBS News he would take the committee "very seriously." Last week, he traveled to Bedminster, New Jersey, to meet with former President Trump.
Although he considered choosing more controversial members — or none at all — to appoint to the committee, McCarthy's final decision represents a safe choice of generally experienced members with committee leadership experience and party loyalty.
Banks said he hopes to use his leadership role to keep the committee on task.
"I have accepted Leader McCarthy's appointment to this committee because we need leaders who will force the Democrats and the media to answer questions so far ignored," he said in a statement. "I will not allow this committee to be turned into a forum for condemning millions of Americans because of their political beliefs."
Banks chairs the Republican Study Committee, Jordan is the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee and Davis is the ranking member on the Committee on House Administration. Armstrong is a lawyer who served on the Judiciary Committee during former President Trump's first impeachment, and Nehls is a former sheriff from Texas who helped Capitol Police hold back rioters in the Capitol on January 6.
Banks, Jordan and Nehls were among the 139 House Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Banks and Jordan also joined an unsuccessful Texas lawsuit that attempted to toss millions of ballots in battleground states.
The resolution that created the select committee requires that McCarthy's picks be approved by Pelosi. Her office confirmed it had received the names Monday evening.
On Tuesday, July 27, for its first meeting, the committee is scheduled to hear from law enforcement officers about their experiences defending the Capitol on January 6.
Witnesses include U.S Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Sergeant Aquilino Gonnell and Metropolitan Police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges.
The committee said Monday that the witnesses will testify in their personal capacities.
