Kevin McCarthy reportedly ripped into Nancy Pelosi in heated phone conversation

House Republicans have resorted to attacking Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even more than before, following the formation of the January 6 select committee. CNN reports that a heated conversation ensued between Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on the phone over the lineup of the select committee.

CNN’s Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju revealed that Pelosi informed McCarthy that she plans to reject two of his nominees to serve as members of the select panel that will probe the insurrection ahead of her announcement. People familiar with the matter revealed that there were raised voices during the phone conversation, with McCarthy hinting that Pelosi’s decision could come back to haunt her. Another person familiar with the matter said that McCarthy told Pelosi that what she is doing is unprecedented.

Pelosi rejected McCarthy’s picks of Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, Republicans who have openly expressed that they plan on laying the blame on Pelosi over the Capitol riots. Both Jordan and Banks voted to overturn now-former President Donald Trump’s election loss both before and after the insurrection. Jordan and Banks are also known to push the conspiracy theories and fall loyal to Trump.

However, Pelosi’s rejection of Banks and Jordan to the select committee was the breaking point for many House Republicans, according to the report. The House GOP expressed frustration with Pelosi implementing remote voting, installing plexiglass cases for lawmakers under quarantine to still attend the vote that would elect her as House Speaker, and weakened a procedural motion used by the minority.

The first hearing by the committee is also scheduled for this week, as injured law enforcement officials will be appearing before the panel to testify about their experience being assaulted by the pro-Trump mob that day. According to Politico’s Rachel Bade, the first hearing would also create trouble for McCarthy.

Bade cited that the fact that McCarthy withdrew all his nominations to the committee, he will not have anyone to challenge the narrative that is already in place among the committee members. Despite the Republicans’ framing of the panel as partisan, the committee is bipartisan, with two Republicans serving: Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.

“Tomorrow is going to be a disastrous day for McCarthy on both ends of the spectrum,” said Bade. “You are going to have men and women in uniform testifying about the violence they witnessed on January 6th. McCarthy is still sticking with Trump…”