House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially named Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger is a member of a committee that will investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, organized by former President Donald Trump supporters.
Kinzinger, Pelosi said in a statement, “brings great patriotism to the committee’s mission: to find the facts and protect our democracy.”
It was unclear whether she would name additional Republicans. Earlier in the day, Pelosi was interviewed on ABC’s “This Week” and said that other Republicans also had expressed interest in working on the panel.
Kinzinger (43), is a veteran of the Air Force and a vocal critic of Trump. He was among seven House Republicans that voted to impeach Trump earlier in the year for inciting an insurrection on Capitol Hill.
As the panel prepares for Tuesday’s first hearing on the attack, he joins Liz Cheney, a Republican lawmaker.
House Republican leaders opposed the creation a bipartisan, independent committee and later opposed the bipartisan House select commission.
Pelosi, Cheney and two other Republican members have already been appointed to the committee. Two of the five Republican House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy selected for her rejected by her, claiming their participation could compromise the integrity of the panel’s work.
McCarthy reacted by stating that his three remaining appointees would be removed if Pelosi did not install all his choices.
Kinzinger and Cheney, who was ousted from a House leadership position after she criticized Trump, were not on his list.
On Jan. 6, four people were killed when Trump supporters rioted in the Capitol, as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s November election win.
One person was shot dead by police, and three others died of natural causes. A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day, and two police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. More than 100 police officers were injured.
Representative Jim Banks was one of the Republican lawmakers who were rejected by Pelosi. He stated on Fox News Sunday that Jim Jordan, a fellow Republican, and the House speaker had rejected them because Jordan “doesn’t want to hear the opposing side” of the Jan. 6 attack.
