McCarthy Denies Threatening to Strip Seats Over Jan. 6 Committee

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy flatly denied that he threatened to strip Republican lawmakers of their committee assignments if they participate in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's newly appointed committee to investigate the Jan. 6 incidents at the Capitol. 

"Let me be very clear, I'm not threatening anybody with committee assignments," the California Republican told reporters after Pelosi announced the committee and that Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has been included as the only member of her party to be part of the investigators. 

CNN, however, reported that according to two GOP sources, McCarthy had threatened, during a meeting Wednesday with freshman members of his caucus, that he'd strip the committee assignments of any GOP lawmaker who accepted an offer from Pelosi to join her select committee. 

Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois were the only two Republicans voting with the House Democrats to form the committee. 

Pelosi announced Thursday that Cheney will serve as one of eight members of the committee. 

McCarthy, though, told reporters Thursday that it is "shocking to me that if a person is a Republican, they get their committee assignments from the Republican conference. For somebody to accept committee assignments from Speaker Pelosi, that is unprecedented."

That includes Cheney, said McCarthy.

"When Liz Cheney came to Congress, she came to see me about and the other members on steering about committees assignments as every other Republican did," he said. "No Democrat came to see me about assignments. The only time Jeff Van Drew came was after he left (the party). It would be shocking to me for anybody from a party on the other side to come and want to accept committees."

He also said he does not regret refusing to support the idea of a bipartisan commission, now that he will have to deal with a committee over which he has no oversight and that would likely be more political.

"No. I regret the politics of Nancy Pelosi," said McCarthy. "For six months, she played politics with this. So what has transpired in the six months? In the six months in the Senate, they had two committees, bipartisanly investigate this and give a report. The FBI has arrested almost 500 people."

But Pelosi continues to make the Capitol incidents about "nothing but politics, and that is why no one is really taking this seriously, based on the direction of where she wants to go."

McCarthy also told reporters that if they read the Senate's report, they'd be concerned not only by what happened on Jan. 6, "but on the days before it that allowed that day to happen."

He said he wants to know why the National Guard wasn't at the Capitol, even though it was out doing street patrols. 

McCarthy added that the congressional Sergeant of Arms never spoke with him before, or during, or after the events of Jan. 6. 

Further, where the Senate report is concerned, "why would you put the riot gear in a bus that was locked in a route down the way?" said McCarthy. "At the time the riot took place, why was there not communication that had direction from leadership? Because leadership wasn't talking? There were so many failures along that way that happened the days before that allowed individuals to get into the building. That's what we want to make sure never, ever happens again."

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