Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., on Sunday said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is ultimately responsible for the Jan. 6 breakdown of security at the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Banks, whom Pelosi rejected for a bipartisan commission investigating the attack, said his inclusion on the panel was nixed because he would ask questions about the responsibility for the breakdown.
“Once you go up to the top of the flagpole of who is in charge of the Capitol Police… they blamed the leadership of the Capitol Police,” he said. “But due to the rules of the United States Capitol, the power instruction of the Capitol, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, has more control and authority and responsibly over the leadership of the Capitol Police than anyone else in the United States Capitol.”
“She doesn't want us to ask these questions because at the end of the day, she is ultimately responsible for a further breakdown of security at the Capitol that happened on Jan. 6,” he declared.
According to Banks, neither he nor Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was also rejected as a member by Pelosi, fit Pelosi’s “narrative.”
“Speaker Pelosi didn't just ban me and Jim Jordan from serving on this committee,” he said. “She also banned the very basic questions that we are asking. Why was the Capitol vulnerable on that day, when three weeks before Jan. 6 there were intelligence reports that the leadership of the Capitol Police were aware of?”
“Whether it's Speaker Pelosi or [Wyoming GOP] Liz Cheney or anyone who sits on this committee, it's clear that those are questions that we should be demanding answers to,” he insisted.
“Nancy Pelosi doesn't want me on that committee, but she also doesn't want us to ask those questions because it leads to a series of answers that don't fit her narrative,” he said.
Related Stories:
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.