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Now that the House Jan. 6 committee has held several hearings dealing with the 2021 Capitol riot, former President Donald Trump says it would have been better if House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had placed pro-Trump Republicans on the panel.
When the committee was being formed, McCarthy proposed the inclusion of Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jim Banks, R-Ind., but when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected them McCarthy declined to name anyone else. As a result, the only Republicans on the committee were picked by Pelosi herself: Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., both known Trump critics.
“Well, I think in retrospect, I think it would have been very smart to put [Republicans on the committee] and again, I wasn’t involved in it from a standpoint so I never looked at it too closely. But I think it would have been good if we had representation,” Trump told Punchbowl News.
“The Republicans don’t have a voice. They don’t even have anything to say,” he added.
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The former president recognized that McCarthy had named Jordan and Banks, only for Pelosi to say no. But rather than respond to the Speaker’s actions by turning away from the whole process, Trump believes McCarthy should have pressed forward with other Republicans.
“I like Kevin very much,” Trump maintained, “but in retrospect, it’s not fair when you have, I don’t know how many people they have on the committee in total, but whatever it is, and you have nobody to give the opposing point of view.”
Despite stating that he likes McCarthy, Trump would not confirm whether or not he would support the current House GOP leader.
“Well, I don’t want to comment on that now,” Trump said.
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McCarthy drew ire from Trump and some other Republicans after leaked audio revealed McCarthy being highly critical of Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Still, Trump did endorse McCarthy for reelection to Congress, calling him a “a tireless advocate for the people of Bakersfield and the Central Valley.”
