Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said after accepting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) appointment to the Jan. 6 select committee on Sunday that “lies and conspiracies” have threatened “our self-governance.”
“For months we have searched for answers and what process we should use to get them. For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our self-governance,” Kinzinger said in a statement
“Self-governance requires accountability and responsibility. My faith requires the same of me, truth is necessary for order, and that’s what I will do,” he added. “Let me be clear, I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution — and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer.”
Pelosi announced Kinzinger’s appointment to the Jan. 6 committee earlier Sunday. He became the second Republican to join the panel after Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), a fellow critic of former President Trump.
Pelosi was reported to be considering Kinzinger last week after she rejected two of the five GOP lawmakers House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) put forward. In response, McCarthy pulled all of his Republican appointees to the panel.
The Illinois representative on Sunday called for a “clear-eyed, nonpartisan approach” to the investigation.
“I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable,” Kinzinger said.
Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.), one of the two Republican lawmakers Pelosi rejected, lambasted Kinzinger’s probable appointment during an interview on Sunday morning.
“It’s clear that Pelosi only wants members on this committee who will stick to her talking points and stick to her narrative,” Banks said on “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s why she’s picked the group that she’s already picked, and anyone that she asked to be on this committee from this point moving forward will be stuck to her, her narrative, to her point of view.”