Republican Rep. Perfectly Shames GOP Leader After Threat Against Anyone Who Sits on 1/6 Commission

After Republicans in the Senate used the filibuster to kill legislation establishing a bipartisan commission investigating the deadly failed insurrection against the U.S. Capitol, the Democratic House of Representatives voted to establish a select committee on the matter instead.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will name 13 representatives to the committee, with Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California consulting with her on the appointment of five Republican members.

The development comes as congressional Republicans continue to dismiss the severity of the riots and dispute the reality that former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election were what prompted his supporters to storm the Capitol.

Only two Republican members of Congress—Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois—voted in favor of establishing the commission. Since the riots, the pair has repeatedly placed the blame on Trump's election lies, and both voted in favor of his second impeachment for inciting an insurrection.

Pelosi has confirmed that Cheney will sit on the commission, saying:

"We are very honored and proud she has agreed to serve on the committee."

The full list of members is yet to be known, but there's speculation that Kinzinger will also serve on the committee.

But Minority Leader McCarthy warned his caucus that if any Republican accepts an appointment from Pelosi to the committee, they'll lose all other committee assignments, according to Punchbowl News.

In comments to CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju, Kinzinger didn't seem fazed by the threat.

When asked about it by Raju, the Congressman responded:

"Who gives a s**t? When you've got people who say crazy stuff and you're not gonna make that threat, but you make that threat to truth-tellers, you've lost any credibility."

McCarthy has fallen under criticism for his refusal to strip members like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida—who's currently embroiled in a child sex trafficking scandal—from their committees.

Earlier this year, Democrats in the House voted to strip Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from committees after her previous posts endorsing deranged conspiracy theories and the execution of her now-colleagues resurfaced. McCarthy slammed Democrats for the move and has since appointed Greene to a Republican task force on American freedoms.

People sided with Kinzinger.

The reception for McCarthy was...not as kind.

McCarthy, for his part, claims he hasn't threatened anyone with committee assignments, but that members can't expect to get committee assignments from both the Democratic Speaker and the Republican conference.