Pelosi Rejects Jordan and Banks From Jan. 6 Inquiry Panel

Politics|Pelosi bars 2 Trump allies from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.

• July 21, 2021, 1:31 p.m. ET

Speaker Nancy Pelosi connected Wednesday said she would barroom the 2 apical Republican lawmakers chosen by their enactment person to beryllium connected the peculiar committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, taking an antithetic measurement to blacklist 2 of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s closest allies successful Congress.

In a statement, Ms. Pelosi said she was rejecting the appointments of Representatives Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio to the panel, based connected their ties to the erstwhile president and comments they had made disparaging the inquiry.

She called her determination “unprecedented” but indispensable fixed their actions related to the deadly events of Jan. 6, erstwhile supporters of Mr. Trump stormed the Capitol based connected his lies astir a stolen election, injuring dozens of constabulary officers and delaying Congress’s authoritative number of electoral votes to formalize President Biden’s victory.

“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence connected the information and with interest astir statements made and actions taken by these members, I indispensable cull the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Ms. Pelosi said. “The unprecedented quality of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the apical House Republican, had included the brace — 2 of Mr. Trump’s staunchest and astir combative allies connected Capitol Hill — among his 5 picks to beryllium connected the committee, signaling helium was approaching the enquiry arsenic a partisan battle. Both voted against counting electoral votes for Mr. Biden, conscionable hours aft rioters ransacked the Capitol.

Ms. Pelosi said she did not basal her determination connected those votes, but connected concerns raised by Democrats, including members of the prime committee who discussed the anticipation that Mr. Banks and Mr. Jordan could derail their work.

Mr. McCarthy called Ms. Pelosi’s determination an “egregious maltreatment of power” that helium said would “irreparably harm this institution.” He threatened to propulsion each Republicans from the committee unless she reversed her decision.

“Denying the voices of members who person served successful the subject and instrumentality enforcement, arsenic good arsenic leaders of lasting committees, has made it undeniable that this sheet has mislaid each legitimacy and credibility and shows the talker is much funny successful playing authorities than seeking the truth,” helium said.

Mr. Jordan, who has called the committee a “political” onslaught connected Mr. Trump, was among a radical of House Republicans who met with the erstwhile president successful December to assistance program the effort to situation Mr. Biden’s victory, and Democratic members of the prime committee were considering calling him arsenic a imaginable witnesser successful their investigation. Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and a subordinate of the committee, reportedly clashed with Mr. Jordan connected the House level connected Jan. 6, blaming him for the riot, according to a caller publication by 2 Washington Post reporters.

“Speaker Pelosi conscionable admitted the obvious, that the January 6th Select Committee is thing much than a partisan governmental charade,” Mr. Jordan said successful a connection responding to her decision.

Mr. Banks has travel nether disapproval for arranging a travel for House Republicans to articulation Mr. Trump astatine a caller lawsuit astatine the southwestern borderline successful which a subordinate in the Capitol riot astatine times served arsenic a translator. Mr. Banks besides released a combative connection Monday nighttime successful which helium blamed the Biden medication for its effect to the riot — which occurred during the last days of the Trump medication — and called the committee a instauration of Ms. Pelosi’s to “malign conservatives and to warrant the Left’s authoritarian agenda.”

Ms. Pelosi said she would judge Mr. McCarthy’s 3 different nominees to the sheet — Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois, Representative Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Representative Troy Nehls of Texas — and said she encouraged the Republican person to connection 2 caller picks to regenerate Mr. Jordan and Mr. Banks.

Nicholas Fandos contributed reporting.