While the California Republican took his time deciding between naming more experienced members to the probe, filling his seats with firebrands, and refusing to tap any members at all, McCarthy ultimately chose to go with the former route with his selections, expected to become formal as soon as today. His picks have the committee leadership and oversight chops to counter Democrats who are expected to use the select panel to hammer Donald Trump and the GOP for fueling the deadly assault on the Capitol.
McCarthy’s picks, all talked about as likely, are led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, as the ranking member of the panel. Banks, who oversees the largest House GOP caucus, is viewed within the party as a skilled messenger.
The other members include Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, a moderate who serves as the top Republican on the House Administration Committee; Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a lawyer by trade who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment; and freshman Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), a former sheriff who supported Capitol Police in turning back rioters who tried to break into the House floor during the siege.
Banks was selected to be the ranking Republican, though Jordan is perhaps the most well-known of the five, given his history of clashing with Democrats at high-profile hearings on Capitol Hill.
Of the Republicans McCarthy has put forth for the committee, Banks, Jordan and Nehls were among the 139 House Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Davis and Armstrong voted to certify the presidential election.
Banks and Jordan were also part of the group of Republicans to sign onto the Texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate the ballots of millions of voters in four battleground states, but was swiftly blocked by the Supreme Court.
