Earlier on Sunday, Pelosi signaled on a segment of ABC News's This Week that it was her "plan" to select Kinzinger, an outspoken critic of the GOP response in the aftermath of the Capitol breach, after she was reported to be mulling the decision for at least a week.
“Today, I was asked by the Speaker to serve on the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th and I humbly accepted," 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.”
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“For months, we have searched for answers and what process we should use to get them," he added. "For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our self-governance. For months, I have said that the American people deserve transparency and truth on how and why thousands showed up to attack our democracy, and ultimately, what led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Complex on January 6, 2021."
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Earlier in the week, Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, agreed Kinzinger would be a "welcome addition" to the panel.
"I think the speaker's leadership on appointing people who actually want to get to the facts and not giving people who have already determined that President Biden was at fault — that's completely out of the realm of reality," the Mississippi Democrat told CNN. "We will follow the facts."
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On Wednesday, Pelosi barred Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana or Jim Jordan of Ohio from participation in the group after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy selected them. Democrats previously filled eight seats on the panel, and McCarthy was responsible for appointing five members. Pelosi did not take issue with three of his picks.
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Moments after the top Democrat's decision, McCarthy chose to withdraw all his GOP appointments to the commission as he vowed Republicans would "pursue" their "own investigation" into the Jan. 6 breach.
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“Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy later argued the panel has forfeited all "legitimacy and credibility" following Pelosi's move, which he said politicized the committee.
“This represents an egregious abuse of power and will irreparably damage this institution,” McCarthy said. “Denying the voices of members who have served in the military and law enforcement, as well as leaders of standing committees, has made it undeniable that this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility and shows the Speaker is more interested in playing politics than seeking the truth.”
The spat between the pair has led the conservative House Freedom Caucus to call for Pelosi's removal. On Friday, lawmakers sought “to vacate the chair and end Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as Speaker of the House.”
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