House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy named five members of his party, including staunch Trump ally, Rep. Jim Jordan, to serve on a special Congressional panel probing the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
McCarthy also named Reps. Jim Banks, Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls to the committee.
Jordan, who also vocally defended Trump during the ex-president's first impeachment, told CNN following his name being put forward, 'You know what this is about? This is about going after President Trump.'
Rep. Jim Jordan, a top House ally of former President Donald Trump, was among the five GOP lawmakers House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy picked to serve on a January 6 select committee to investigate the Capitol riot
Democrats pushed for the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate January 6, but that was tanked by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Instead the House is forming a 1/6 select committee to probe the Capitol riot (pictured)
Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, will serve as the party's ranking member on the 1/6 select committee
Banks, who will serve as the GOP's ranking member on the committee, says he will 'force the Democrats and the media to answer questions so far ignored.'
'Among them, why was the Capitol unprepared and vulnerable to attack on January 6?' Banks said.
Democratic leaders had originally proposed a 9/11-style bipartisan commission, but the bill died in the Senate once Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he would not support it.
Republicans wanted the commission to have a larger scope - and not just study what happened on January 6, but other acts of so-called 'political violence' including last summer's Black Lives Matter protests.
Banks reiterated that point in a statement Monday night.
'If Democrats were serious about investigating political violence, this committee would be studying not only the January 6 riot at the Capitol, but also the hundreds of violent political riots last summer when many more innocent Americans and law-enforcement officers were attacked,' he said. 'And of course, the committee would not overlook the Good Friday murder of USCP Officer Billy Evans that was perpetrated by a far-left extremist.'
Other Republican lawmakers have brought up the 2017 Congressional baseball shooting, in which GOP members of Congress were targeted by a gunman who supported democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, wanting that to be investigated by a 1/6 commission as well.
'Make no mistake, Nancy Pelosi created this committee solely to malign conservatives and to justify the Left's authoritarian agenda,' Banks also said.
'Even then, I will do everything possible to give the American people the facts about the lead up to January 6, the riot that day, and the responses from Capitol leadership and the Biden administration,' the Indiana Republican added. 'I will not allow this committee to be turned into a forum for condemning millions of Americans because of their political beliefs.'
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also chose Rep. Kelly Armstrong (left) of North Dakota and Rep. Rodney David (right) of Illinois to serve on the 1/6 select committee
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on July 19, 2021 in New York City
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month announced eight members of the committee, including one Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney, who has been one of the most prominent critics of former President Donald Trump.
McCarthy said at the time he was shocked that Cheney would accept Pelosi's invitation to be on the committee.
The special congressional panel was created to investigate the events leading up to and on January 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Biden from being certified the winner of last November's presidential election against Trump.
Of the five GOP lawmakers selected by McCarthy, three of them - Jordan, Banks and Nehls - voted to overturn the election result.
Republican leaders resisted any special panel to investigate the deadly Capitol assault, noting existing congressional committees had been doing their own probes and that more than 500 people had already been charged with crimes.
Rep. Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas, was picked by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on a 1/6 select committee. Nehls was among the GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the presidential election
Some Republicans have downplayed the attack, with Rep. Andrew Clyde comparing it to a visit by tourists.
Four people died on the day of the violence, one shot dead by police and the other three of natural causes.
A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day.
Two police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. More than a hundred police officers were injured.
Just before the attack, Trump delivered fiery remarks at the White House and then encouraged his supporters to march to Capitol Hill.
Jordan is a member of the conservative group of lawmakers known as the House Freedom Caucus.
Banks chairs the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative grouping in the House.
Davis is the senior Republican on the House Administration Committee, while Armstrong served on the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment.
Nehls is a freshman representative.
It is up to Pelosi whether she will accept McCarthy's recommendations on Republican members.
A spokesman for Pelosi told DailyMail.com that the speaker had just received the names.
'Stay tuned,' he said.
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