Pelosi faced 'a wall of screaming' from McCarthy after rejecting 2 GOP picks for the January 6 select committee, report says

Nancy Pelosi speaking and holding up both hands at a press conference.
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  • Nancy Pelosi faced "a wall of screaming" from Kevin McCarthy over a committee decision, a source told Politico.

  • She had rejected two GOP recommendations for the January 6 committee.

  • McCarthy, the GOP leader, responded by pulling all his picks from the committee.

  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced "a wall of screaming" from Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy after nixing two of his selections to serve on the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection, a source told Politico on Friday.

Their frosty relationship boiled over into a public battle when Pelosi took the unprecedented step on Wednesday of rejecting two of McCarthy's picks: Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana.

"With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee," Pelosi said in a statement. She said she'd allow McCarthy's other recommendations - GOP Reps. Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong, and Troy Nehls - to stay.

Politico's source described the ensuing phone conversation as "a wall of screaming" from McCarthy. Another said there were "raised voices."

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Pelosi proposed the select committee after Republicans in the Senate filibustered legislation to create an independent, bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate the insurrection.

The committee is designed to have 13 members, with eight selected by the speaker and five chosen "in consultation" with the minority leader, allowing Pelosi to veto McCarthy's picks.

McCarthy, who described Pelosi's rejection of Jordan and Banks as an "egregious abuse of power that will irreparably damage this institution," responded by pulling all five GOP members he had chosen off the panel and announcing that the House GOP planned to conduct its own investigation into the deadly riot.

Pelosi shut down questions about McCarthy in her weekly press conference on Thursday, telling reporters: "I'm not talking about him. Let's not waste each other's time."

The speaker is pressing forward with the committee, sans McCarthy's selections. Pelosi convened her eight selections for a meeting on Thursday. The committee, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, has six other Democratic members and GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, whom Pelosi appointed.

"This is deadly serious. It's about our Constitution, our country. It's about an assault on the Capitol that's being mischaracterized for some reason at the expense - at the expense of finding the truth for the American people," Pelosi said at the press conference, adding: "It is my responsibility as speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth on this, and we will not let their antics stand in the way of that."

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