Pelosi appoints anti-Trump Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger to Jan 6 committee

Kinzinger and Cheney are the only Republicans to sit on the panel, which was initially designed to be bipartisan. According to the Guardian, Kinzinger "humbly" accepted the position on the panel. Many other Republicans in Congress have repeatedly spoken out against the panel, calling it "political," among other charges.

The committee is slated to start meeting in coming days and will hear testimony from Capitol police officers who had to quell the storming of the Capitol building.

Pelosi mentioned that Kinzinger, an outspoken Trump critic who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for the former president's second impeachment, was the one who approached her with his desire to sit on the committee, saying:

"Kinzinger and] other Republicans have expressed an interest to serve on the select committee. And I wanted to appoint three of them that Leader McCarthy suggested. But he withdrew their names."

"The two that I would not appoint are people who would jeopardize the integrity of the investigation, and there's no way I would tolerate their antics as we seek the truth," the House Speaker continued.

Pelosi referred to Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN), who were suggested to her by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to be included on the panel. Banks, disappointed with Pelosi's refusal, commented:

"It's clear that Pelosi only wants members on this committee who will stick to her talking points and stick to her narrative. That's why she's picked the group that she’s already picked and anyone that she asks to be on this committee from this point moving forward will be stuck to her narrative, to her point of view."

"There won't be another side," Banks fired back while speaking Sunday.

McCarthy criticized Kinzinger's addition in a statement, calling it a "self-appointment" that will not make the panel's inquiry a "serious investigation."