They are regretting their game plan.
As the Jan. 6 Select Committee continues to highlight Trump’s actions in the days before the Capitol riot, former President Donald Trump has taken aim at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) for pulling all of his selections for the panel after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) blocked Jim Jordan (R-OH.) and Jim Banks (R-IN.) from sitting on the panel.
In recent days McCarthy has earned the ire of Trump, who has voiced his frustrations that because of the California Republican’s decision, his allies have not had a voice in the highly publicized hearings.
Trump’s also recently clarified that he has yet to endorse McCarthy to be the next speaker, a remark that may signal Trump’s plans to endorse someone else.
Speaking to Punchbowl News, Trump mentioned that, in retrospect, McCarthy putting Republicans on the panel would have given the GOP “a voice,” adding that the way the committee is structured Republicans “don’t even have anything to say.”
The former President added “it would’ve been far better to have Republicans” on the panel, noting that while Banks and Jordan “would have been great… when Pelosi wrongfully didn’t allow them, we should’ve picked other people. We have a lot of good people in the Republican Party.”
However, McCarthy disagrees that having other Republicans on the committee would have made any difference to the substance of the investigation or hearing.
Instead, the California Republican noted, that getting replacements for Banks — two of Trump’s most vocal allies — and allowing the three Republicans Pelosi confirmed would have had little difference.
McCarthy challenged reporters, “Why would you do it?” Highlighting that Pelosi “is going to pick and choose. So the only Republicans that would be on it would be the ones that Pelosi would allow on — it would be no different outcome in this thing.”
McCarthy also expressed that this process showed that the committee is “purely political.”
