Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives has introduced a resolution to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 uprising, which is expected to be voted on later this week.
The committee will have 13 members, according to the resolution.
Pelosi will appoint eight of the members, while the other five will be chosen in consultation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Pelosi did not say who she plans to choose to chair or serve on the committee, but a source close to her tells CNN that she is seriously considering a Republican as one of her eight choices.
After Senate Republicans used the filibuster to stop legislation that would have created an independent, bipartisan commission made up of members who are not currently serving in Congress, Pelosi decided to create a select committee. This select committee will now be led by House Democrats, with subpoena power and no set deadline to complete its work.
“Senate Republicans did Mitch McConnell a ‘personal favor’ rather than their patriotic duty and voted against the bipartisan commission negotiated by Democrats and Republicans,” Pelosi said in a statement Monday. “But Democrats are determined to find the truth.”
McCarthy’s cooperation level remains to be seen. Any investigation into his role on January 6 could be centered on him. As the former President’s supporters stormed the Capitol, the California Republican called Trump and asked him to tell them to “publicly and forcefully” call off the mob. McCarthy told a group of Republican members of Congress that Trump refused to do so, and that the rioters cared more about the election results than he did, according to GOP Rep. Jamie Herrera Butler.
McCarthy has yet to give a full account of the phone call in public, but he has stated several times that if asked, he would be willing to testify before the commission or committee.
“I have no problem talking to anybody about it,” McCarthy said last week. “I don’t know what the conversations that day would matter as that’s going on.”
A CNN inquiry about the select committee received no response from McCarthy’s office.
The full House could vote on the resolution as early as Wednesday. It will not need to be approved by the Senate.
