During the assembling of the members of the January 6 congressional panel, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy moved to withdraw all of his recommended lawmakers. However, with the panel approaching publicized hearings, a report reveals that McCarthy may regret making that decision.
According to a report by Scott Wong of NBC News, McCarthy may soon regret withdrawing all his recommended lawmakers from the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee. Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to join the panel after Pelosi vetoed McCarthy’s recommendations of Jim Jordan and Jim Banks to the committee.
The report notes that the televised hearings by the congressional committee are set to take place in the summer, and McCarthy will not have anyone on the panel who can push back on behalf of former President Donald Trump. This could also cost Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections as they are expected to regain the majority in the House, with McCarthy becoming House Speaker.
Wong noted that McCarthy made a gamble that he may soon regret making even if he does not see it as such. McCarthy previously said that the committee’s investigation is “nothing but a political show” and that the panel already has a report but is just trying to create a narrative rather than unveil the truth.
Despite the comments, it will not change what may happen when the televised hearings begin, and witnesses are under oath to testify before the panel. McCarthy’s fellow Republicans have also criticized the House Minority Leader for making such a decision. Wong added that Republicans no longer have an idea of the leads the committee is following and what witnesses are saying in the private depositions.
The congressional panel previously obtained the Trump White House call logs dated January 6. McCarthy claimed that he spoke with now-former President Donald Trump on the day of the insurrection. However, his phone conversation with Trump does not show up in the logs the committee has obtained.
The detail also comes amidst a mysterious gap in the call logs on January 6 that lasted for seven hours and 37 minutes, which covered the time the insurrection took place.