Republicans Question Credibility of Pelosi's Pick to Head Capitol Security Review

The impartiality of the retired Army general appointed to lead the U.S. Capitol security review has come into question after he previously blamed Republican lawmakers for the Jan. 6 attack.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appointed retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to review security measures following the Capitol riot by demonstrators protesting the election results.

Honoré, however, tweeted or retweeted comments attacking GOP lawmakers following the Capitol violence, per the Washington Examiner.

In one tweet, Honoré tweeted an expletive when referring to Republican senators after Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson on Jan. 13 tweeted, "I'm told that @SteveScaliseGOP is telling Members of the GOP caucus 'Don't worry about the money. They'll all come back in three months when they need things.'"

Honoré replied, "Sound like old @SteveScaliseGOP is saying that Business pay him to favor to them, @AGJeffLandry @FBI @FBIWFO."

In another Jan. 13 tweet, Honoré replied to MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who tweeted about the House minority leader, "Kevin McCarthy voted to throw out millions of Black votes on January 6th. He had pushed House Republicans back 50 years into the Jim Crow Era. What American company can ever afford to contribute again to McCarthy's New Jim Crow Party?"

"Yes and @SteveScaliseGOP is on his [expletive]," Honoré replied.

Wednesday night on Fox News Network, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Honoré's comments were "just downright crazy."

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called Honoré an "extreme partisan," saying on Twitter the retired general "should be the LAST person to head up an investigation of what happened at the Capitol on Jan 6th."

Last July, Honoré said then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf needed "to be run out of Washington" because of what he described as [expletive] tactics used by federal agents to control riots in Portland, Oregon.

Pelosi announced she had tapped Honoré to lead the Capitol security review in a Jan. 15 statement.

"I have asked Lt. General Russel Honoré (Ret.), a respected leader with experience dealing with crises, to lead an immediate review of the Capitol's security infrastructure, interagency processes and procedures, and command and control," Pelosi said.

• Rep. Mace: No More Troops, Wire Fencing at Capitol
• National Guard Says Last Capitol Troops Will Go Home Mid-March