Dupage Policy Journal

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is threatening Republican lawmakers, including Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Rockford), with stripping them of their committee assignments should they accept an appointment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

House Democrats recently banded to create the committee over the objections of Republican members who earlier blocked efforts aimed at creating an independent and bipartisan commission to probe the attack and put forth recommendations on how to prevent similar attacks.

McCarthy’s warning came on the same day the House passed a resolution creating the committee. Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) were the only Republican members to vote in favor of its creation.

With the committee set to be formed with mostly Democratic members, Pelosi early on vowed to reserve one of her spots for a Republican lawmaker. She also reserved the right to reject any lawmaker recommended by McCarthy based on if they voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.

Republican lawmakers have blasted the idea of a select committee as overly partisan and aimed at keeping Democrats in power.

McCarthy previously stripped Cheney of her leadership role in the House Republican caucus after she publicly criticized former president Donald Trump over his role in the insurrection.

 Back at home in his 16th Congressional District, Kinzinger is being accused of being out of touch with the people he represents by a primary challenger.

“When you have someone like Adam Kinzinger – who represents small business, (and) everyday American community – he is not only not pushing back against the far left but actually echoing a lot of what these far leftists are saying,” said Catalina Lauf, who plans to face off against Kinzinger in next year’s Republican primary, in a video posted to YouTube. 

“It’s a huge problem," she said. "This area is very Trump, but yet we have a congressman in Kinzinger who bashes the former president and Republicans.”