Ocasio-Cortez says Republicans who were ‘in on’ Capitol riot shouldn’t be on Jan. 6 committee

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday accused some Republican lawmakers of being “in on” the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, adding that those individuals should not be included on the select committee that will probe the incidents from that day.

“We need a Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th domestic terrorist attack. But we must also be careful about any Republicans that may serve on the committee. There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can’t have them be a part of the investigation,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.

We need a Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th domestic terrorist attack.

But we must also be careful about any Republicans that may serve on the committee. There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can’t have them be a part of the investigation.

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) June 30, 2021

The House on Wednesday voted largely along party lines to create a select committee to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Only two Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), joined Democrats in supporting the measure in a final 222-190 vote.

Under the resolution to create the panel, which was introduced earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would appoint eight members to the committee, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would choose five.

On Monday, a Pelosi aide said the Speaker is “seriously considering” naming a Republican as one of her eight picks for the committee.

McCarthy, however, has reportedly told members of his caucus that if they accept an appointment to join Pelosi’s select panel they will be stripped of their committee assignments, Punchbowl News reported on Thursday.

In a closed-door meeting with first-term House GOP members on Wednesday, the minority leader reportedly said he, not Pelosi, controls Republicans’ committee assignments, adding that if they accept Pelosi’s appointment they should plan on receiving all committee assignments from her, Punchbowl News reported.

The warning illustrates the opposition to the committee among Republican Party leaders and their continued attempts to block investigations into the deadly attacks.

The House resolution to establish the select committee comes after Senate Republicans last month tanked legislation to form a commission to probe the incident. The final vote in the upper chamber was 54-35, which fell short of the 10 GOP votes needed to overcome a legislative filibuster.

Kinzinger, whose name has swirled as a possible pick by Pelosi to sit on the select committee, responded to McCarthy’s threats on Thursday, telling Politico, “Who gives a shit?”