Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to join the House select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the Illinois Republican announced Sunday.
Writing, “When duty calls, I will answer,” the military veteran said he will be joining fellow Republican Rep. Lynne Cheney (R-WY) on the committee after House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew his choices following a dispute with Pelosi.
In his statement, the GOP lawmaker wrote: Today, I was asked by the Speaker to serve on the Jan 6 Select Committee and I humbly accepted.”
Pelosi also announced Sunday that she has appointed GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger to the House select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
“Today, I am announcing the appointment of Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard, to serve on the Select Committee,” she said in a statement, according to CNN. “He brings great patriotism to the Committee’s mission: to find the facts and protect our Democracy.”
Kinzinger, a vocal Republican critic of former President Donald Trump who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for his second impeachment, is joining Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming as the only Republicans on the new select committee.
“Let me be clear, I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution—and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer,” Kinzinger said in a statement.
Kinzinger’s appointment to the committee may bring additional legitimacy to one of the most consequential investigations ever conducted by Congress and will likely make it harder for Republicans to argue that it’s a partisan endeavor.
You can see Kinzinger’s statement below:
GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger says he has been asked by Pelosi to serve on the Jan. 6 select committee — and he has accepted.
“When duty calls, I will always answer,” he said in a statement. pic.twitter.com/ojIecTIqCq
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) July 25, 2021
