Dems hire Riggleman to serve as adviser to Jan. 6 committee

House Democrats have hired former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman to serve as an adviser to the Jan. 6 select committee, the panel chair announced late Friday.

Riggleman brings a background in intelligence and online extremism to the panel having served as a U.S. intelligence officer prior to his time in Congress. Riggleman sought a second term last cycle but lost the GOP primary despite receiving an endorsement from then-President Donald Trump. Since leaving office, Riggleman has become increasingly critical of the former president.

Democrats believe Riggleman's background will aid their probe as they seek to examine the circumstances surrounding the violent attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol earlier this year, including the actions of the former president and the security breakdown ahead of and during the assault.

The chairman of the select committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), confirmed in a release that Riggleman would be added to the panel, an hour after Bloomberg first reported that he is a new staff addition. Two sources closes to the investigation confirmed the move to POLITICO.

"In addition to being a former House colleague, Mr. Riggleman brings a deep background in national security and intelligence matters," Thompson said.

In a video posted on Twitter Friday night, Riggleman said the assignment may be one of the "the biggest things I've ever done in my life. That includes deploying almost 20 years ago right after 9/11."

"We can't worry about the color of the jerseys anymore, or whether we have and R or a D next to our name. It's time for us to look in a fact-based way at what happened on Jan. 6, but to see if we can prevent this from ever happening again in the future," Riggleman said. "I want to give my word to everybody, that I'm want to do this in a way that's professional, that's transparent and that's ethical."

Riggleman, who repeatedly said he would serve on the committee if asked, met with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and staffers of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month to discuss the possibility of working with the panel.

Cheney, the first and most high-profile House Republican tapped to serve on the committee, publicly praised Riggleman last month while his name was being considered.

“I think Denver would be tremendous,” Cheney said in a brief interview. “Denver is somebody who's got years of experience, especially in all the areas connected to cyber issues. And I think he’d just be a tremendous addition to the work of the committee in terms of understanding, recognizing the extent to which social media platforms were used, the communications that went on in the lead up to the 6th.”

Thompson also announced that the panel has hired another staffer who Cheney put forward, Joseph Maher. Maher will be on detail from the Department of Homeland Security, where he serves as Principal Deputy General Counsel.

"Mr. Maher has distinguished himself across his career as a public servant, and I’m grateful to Representative Cheney for recommending that he join our team. These two individuals will provide invaluable insight and expertise as we piece together what happened on January 6th and in the time leading up to it," Thompson said.

Despite Democrats now being able to tout the involvement of two traditional conservatives — Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — and now Riggleman as an adviser, the findings of the panel are all but expected to be rejected by Trump allies.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled all five of his picks to serve on the select panel after Pelosi rejected two of his key picks: Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

The GOP leader and other Republicans have largely blasted the top Democrat’s move, seeking to frame the panel as a partisan ploy designed to hurt Trump and the GOP ahead of the upcoming midterms. They have also pointed to the involvement of three former House impeachment managers and an uneven balance of seats between Democrats and Republicans on the panel as proof it is stacked against them.

But House Democrats and some Republican members have reminded their GOP colleagues that they rejected a resolution seeking to establish a bipartisan 9/11-style commission earlier this year, which came after one of their own, Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), struck a deal with Democrats. GOP leaders then began an informal whip operation against the agreement.

Despite this effort, 35 House Republicans still voted to establish the commission. Only two Republicans voted to form the select panel, both of whom now serve at the appointment of Pelosi.

Last month, the committee held its first hearing featuring four members of law enforcement who described the violence and racism they encountered at the hands of the rioters seeking to challenge President Joe Biden’s election win.

Heather Caygle and Myah Ward contributed to this report.

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How Jim Jordan went from ‘legislative terrorist’ to inside operator

Jim Jordan was working out in the House gym in late November 2018 when Kevin McCarthy called him with a peace offering in the wake of their battle for the GOP conference's top job.

The Ohio lawmaker coveted the senior spot on the House Oversight Committee, a powerful new perch that would offer him a bigger megaphone and a chance to wage daily battle with Democrats. But McCarthy’s offer came with a caveat: Jordan would have to shed his past willingness to drive a wedge within the conference, the type of behavior that prompted former Speaker John Boehner to christen him a “legislative terrorist,” and become a team player.

It was a calculated risk for McCarthy, who had watched Jordan rise as a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, an arch-conservative group that made legislative life hell for McCarthy’s two predecessors in Republican leadership. That call, recounted by McCarthy and Jordan, illustrates the breadth of the mutual leap the duo took to consolidate their power as allies.

Now, as Jordan reaches new heights of popularity among his House GOP peers after Speaker Nancy Pelosi barred him from the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the moment stands out as a key inflection point in their relationship.

McCarthy told POLITICO that both men, not to mention the conference writ large, evolved to bring his relationship with Jordan to the current moment: "You adapt. If you don't adapt, you're not gonna get there," he said.

Lately, the onetime leadership rivals couldn’t be closer. The Ohioan is even rethinking the Freedom Caucus’ efforts to install former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) over McCarthy in 2015.

“We should have made McCarthy the speaker, versus Ryan,” Jordan said during a recent interview in his office. “Looking back, we should have done that because Kevin can make a decision and ... he’s done just a good job of bringing the entire team working together.”

That remarkable shift in the two men's dynamic, from rivals for minority leader to partners, explains a lot about why Republicans are oozing with confidence that they can retake the House next fall. Jordan said he expects his good relations with McCarthy to continue if the party retakes the majority and denied any interest in vying for a higher post himself at that time, asserting that it's leadership — not him — who's evolved.

“I don't think I've changed one bit, but there's been a dramatic change in the leadership of our conference and just dramatic change in a good way from Boehner to McCarthy," Jordan said.

When Jordan appeared before the GOP Steering Committee to discuss the top job on the Oversight Committee in 2018, however, his past as a rhetorical bomb-thrower atop the Freedom Caucus was fresh on many Republican minds. Members of the steering panel, which is largely controlled by Republican leadership, skewered Jordan during that encounter.

“You can’t go s--- all over the conference” and then get rewarded with a ranking member's position, one lawmaker on the Steering panel recalled of the back-and-forth, addressing it on condition of anonymity. That Republican said Jordan received a “harsh” dressing-down and ultimately agreed that, if he got to lead his party on the Oversight panel, he would give GOP leadership the “benefit of the doubt” going forward.

McCarthy and other Republicans saw Jordan’s past machinations against the conference as a byproduct of his exclusion from its inner sanctum. In that vein, his motivations shifted once he was given a seat at the table.

“If you do the same thing always ... and you don't take a risk, you can't win anything," McCarthy said of his decision to offer Jordan the Oversight spot. He didn't try to strong-arm Jordan while offering the position, McCarthy added, but said only that "If you're going to be a ranker, you have responsibilities … ”

Jordan said that he couldn't recall getting warned sharply during the Steering meeting. As he remembered it, he told McCarthy he was leery of stepping on his friend, former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a fellow Donald Trump ally who also wanted the Oversight Committee's top GOP spot. According to Jordan, he made no promises about how he would operate as ranking member in 2018 but said only, "thanks for the opportunity."

No matter whose memory is right, there's no disputing that Jordan made the most of that opportunity McCarthy gave him — and the risk has paid off dramatically. By early 2020 Jordan had jumped to become the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, a position he had long aspired to. There he would play a key role in the GOP defense against Democrats’ first impeachment investigation of Trump’s contacts with Ukraine, a performance that helped make him one of McCarthy's top picks for the select committee on Jan. 6.

Of course, Trump himself played a major role in Jordan's journey from the fringes to the highest ranks of the House GOP. The former president got involved in the McCarthy-Jordan leadership race in 2018 to smooth tensions between the two, and Jordan's support of the bombastic Trump is as critical to his rise this Congress as it is to Rep. Liz Cheney's (R-Wyo.) fall.

Trump also played an indirect role in Jordan's growing House GOP clout. Spearheading the Republican defense in both Trump impeachments helped the Ohioan make new allies across the conference's ideological spectrum, in part by mentoring younger members on the Judiciary and Oversight panels.

“Jim, I've noticed, especially over the last year, spends a lot of time going around and talking to the new members, the ones that he feels like want his advice,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who became the top Republican on the Oversight panel after Jordan moved to Judiciary.

“He probably wasn't the most popular member in the conference when I arrived four and a half years ago, but I think that he probably is the most popular member of the conference" nowadays, Comer added. "He's the most popular member with the Republican base, there's no question about that."

Jordan said that "I try to help our colleagues, particularly if you're on" the Judiciary panel, adding that he's traveled to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Louisiana so far to assist fellow House Republicans.

"That is what you do. It is what Kevin [McCarthy] does. It is what [House Minority Whip] Steve [Scalise] does. It is what President Trump did," Jordan added.

He may have left his past antics behind, but his embrace of shutdown politics and political brawls, his avid defense of Trump at every turn, his skill at lobbing attacks at his opponents — not to mention his ties to a sexual abuse scandal on the Ohio State University wrestling team — mean Jordan will be forever infamous among Democrats. Among them, Pelosi is seen as heroic for blocking Jordan from the Jan. 6 probe.

Jordan has "led the charge" among Republicans toward "cult-ish behavior [that's] contributed to profound dysfunctionality and debasement of a proud and major political party," Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said.

House Republicans have their own, and varied, opinions about Jordan's status. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), a close friend and fellow Freedom Caucus member, said he thinks “Congress probably has" evolved more than Jordan has. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), also a far-right conservative, agreed that Jordan’s “message is still the same.”

Some Republicans acknowledge, even if only privately, that Jordan has indeed changed. Others argued that his vibe might feel different if they take back the House next year.

“We're in the minority,” remarked Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a Freedom Caucus member. “Let's see how the evolution looks in January,” he added.

A few McCarthy allies, meanwhile, have mused that part of Jordan's transformation came from pulling the Ohioan away from Meadows, who they saw as a bad influence.

Jordan has distanced himself from various moves led by members of the Freedom Caucus, including the deployment of parliamentary delay tactics designed to protest Democratic policies that have bred frustration among the broader GOP conference. He has also broken from Freedom Caucus members on key votes, including to support two bills honoring the Capitol Police for their response to the Jan. 6 assault.

Still, some Republicans question whether if Jordan will maintain his alliance with McCarthy and other leaders if they win back the House next fall. And despite his shift from the outside to the inside of the GOP conference, other colleagues wonder if Jordan has privately hatched plans to overthrow McCarthy when the time comes. But many believe their unity now will keep going well into a 2023 majority, with Jordan very much included.

“It makes us a more inclusive team,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a moderate who sits on the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. “There's a great saying: It's better to have people in the tent pissing out than people outside the tent pissing in.”

McCarthy had an even pithier assessment of Jordan, saying: “He is getting along with everyone — that's a leader."

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

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Sober inquiry or slash-and-burn? McCarthy at a Jan. 6 crossroads

Kevin McCarthy has a choice when it comes to the Democrat-led investigation of the Capitol riot: Get serious or go scorched-earth.

The California Republican’s options aren’t necessarily binary, but the path he takes could shape his political future as he eyes the speaker’s gavel in 2023. Among McCarthy’s members who have already lived through two Trump impeachments, some want the GOP leader to pick fighters skilled enough to withstand a months-long bombardment from Democrats trying to use the select committee to spotlight the former president’s role in the deadly Capitol attack led by his supporters.

But the House Republicans most eager to serve on the Jan. 6 panel are the party’s firebrands, more practiced at crafting viral clips of verbal attacks than they are at making a sustained, credible case against top Democratic oversight practitioners.

That leaves McCarthy with the tricky task of tapping the right mix of select committee appointments — and the Republicans he picks must be prepared to go toe to toe with one of their own in Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a critic of the minority leader who’ll be sitting on the Democratic side of the dais as House members dig into the insurrection.

The GOP leader could opt out of making appointments to the committee that Republicans have already attacked as a partisan effort to hit Trump and his party ahead of next year's midterms. Doing that, however, risks handing Democrats control of the narrative, and if recent precedent is an indicator, Republicans will likely choose to participate. McCarthy already has approached some members about potentially serving on the select panel, according to sources familiar with the conversations.

That doesn’t mean some of his strongest potential recruits will do so happily. Not only have House Republicans dismissed the Jan. 6 investigation as politically motivated, many are reluctant to take on a time-consuming probe they fear will cut into their time to shape legislation.

“For me personally, I've got bad climate policy we have to continue to shine a light on because it's bad for my state. I've got really good bipartisan criminal justice reform I'd like to see moved, and obviously there's finite time in the day,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a lawyer by trade who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment.

“But that being said, we have to participate in it, right?” Armstrong added. “I mean we have to — that's just my personal opinion, but I don't see a lot of benefit in not … and we need good solid members on that.”

Armstrong isn’t the only Republican hesitating to raise his hand for the Jan. 6 inquiry, a reluctance that contrasts with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), all of whom have privately or publicly expressed interest in the select committee. Rather than pick even one of that trio, some of McCarthy's members are urging him to look to more experienced players who will be prepared to face a carefully crafted Democratic strategy.

One House Republican who said McCarthy recognizes the select committee calls for serious-minded appointees fretted over the low prospects of "any good at all" coming from the investigation. "I mean, we've got three impeachment managers on the" Democratic side, this member said, sharing candid views on condition of anonymity.

Cheney's presence on the Jan. 6 panel at the invitation of Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also causing fellow Republicans heartburn. While the McCarthy critic's presence brings the committee closer to a partisan balance, with seven Democrats filling seats to six Republicans if the minority leader chooses to make appointments, some GOP colleagues see Cheney's appointment as a Pelosi gambit to stave off criticism that the inquiry’s findings will be partisan.

And the right flank of the House GOP, which exiled Cheney from leadership over her repeated condemnation of the former president, is going after the conservative scion directly.

“It’s no surprise that Congresswoman Cheney was chosen to be on the Jan 6 committee," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus. "Her blatant hatred towards Trump indicates she has a bias that’s perfectly aligned with the bias of Nancy Pelosi."

It's still unclear whether McCarthy will seek to punish Cheney for joining the select panel after warning a group of House freshmen that anyone who accepts a Pelosi offer to serve should be prepared to get committee assignments from Democrats. During a press briefing last week, McCarthy downplayed suggestions that he was making “any threats."

Despite McCarthy's comments, some Republicans say they got the opposite signal from leadership on Thursday after Cheney was named to a House GOP task force on China for another term.

“It is confusing for the membership to have Liz Cheney platformed as a co-chair of a marquee task force, while she's also being platformed by Nancy Pelosi on the ‘Hunt Republicans’ committee,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a Judiciary Committee member facing a federal investigation into possible sex trafficking of a minor.

“I don't understand what leadership is trying to tell us when Liz Cheney is simultaneously jettisoned and embraced on the same day, within a matter of hours of each other," added the Trump ally and McCarthy critic.

Only two House Republicans — Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who both voted to impeach Trump earlier this year — split with their party to vote with Democrats in favor of the select panel. That marked a dramatic drop in support from the 35 GOP lawmakers who voted in favor of an independent Jan. 6 commission, a bill that passed the House in May before stalling in the Senate after a GOP filibuster.

A handful of House Republicans point to the imbalanced partisan makeup of the select committee as a reason why they were encouraging their GOP colleagues to support the bipartisan pitch for a 9/11-style Jan. 6 commission. Still, they're already on the offensive: Some point to Pelosi's selection of three former managers of Trump's impeachments to serve on the select panel — Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — as a sign that she's more interested in going after Trump.

And Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, has already dismissed the prospect of probing Pelosi’s role in responding to security breakdowns at the Capitol during the insurrection, in what Republicans have taken as a sign that Democrats are trying to shield the speaker’s own decisions from scrutiny.

“Speaker Pelosi has set a playing field that is going to be stacked with her partisan sycophants — many have been part of the now-defunct Russia collusion story that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Others have been part of impeachments that were nothing but partisan against President Trump,” said Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, the Administration Committee's top Republican.

Even so, Davis said he would serve if McCarthy asked, adding that "if the conference agrees, we need voices on this," and that Republicans should pick "voices that are willing to talk about what went wrong in the processes leading up to January 6. And Democrats control the House. They ought to be able to answer some of those questions."

Democrats, for their parts, are prepared to claim the moral high ground as the select committee starts its work. They argue Republicans torpedoed a chance for a bipartisan commission where they would’ve had more powers. Pelosi's caucus also sees the moment as uniquely vulnerable for Republicans as some of their GOP colleagues court controversy with comments that have downplayed the Capitol siege in an attempt at revisionist history.

"Almost from the very beginning, there were Republicans who wanted to reckon with the enormity of what had just taken place, and there were Republicans who immediately wanted to blame it on Antifa, or trivialize the event, or just move on," Raskin said in an interview. "I really can't think of another country on Earth where people would try to sweep under the rug a terrorist attack on the capital of the nation."

Multiple House Republicans believe Rep. Jim Jordan, a Freedom Caucus bomb thrower turned leadership ally, is expected to play a role in the select committee. Some GOP members have mused that even if Trump doesn’t explicitly ask for the Ohio Republican to serve on it, the ex-president will be expecting Jordan's appointment.

In addition to Davis as a natural counterpart to Lofgren, other Republicans have suggested Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as a good match for the panel. The Louisiana Republican, a Judiciary Committee and former constitutional lawyer, is seen as a possible counterweight to Raskin, who taught constitutional law.

Yet even as McCarthy offers few clues about if or when he'll make appointments, recent history suggests he won't boycott the committee. In April 2020, Democrats formed a select panel to examine the coronavirus pandemic and Trump's handling of it. The GOP blasted the effort as a means to undercut the then-president ahead of his reelection bid — and McCarthy later named Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) to lead the Republican lineup.

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House GOP bristles as a Jan. 6 investigation lands in its lap

In the days after the deadly Capitol attack on Jan. 6, tension among House Republicans was so high that one of them privately suggested some GOP colleagues be punished for their roles in encouraging the riot.

This GOP lawmaker drafted a list of about half a dozen fellow Republicans who had cheered on the pro-Donald Trump rally that turned violent that day, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the maneuver. The sources said Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) were on the list but declined to identify its author — a sign that the scars from the insurrection remain deeply painful for members of both parties.

But the fact that the list even made the rounds, in hindsight, shows how sharply the political winds have turned for Republicans reckoning with Trump's legacy and future. Only 10 House Republicans voted to impeach the former president for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, and most have said little since on the matter. There is close to zero appetite within their party now to break with Trump.

And Trump is once again the GOP's undisputed kingmaker, holding rallies and flexing his grassroots fundraising might as he seeks to influence Republican primary campaigns. House Democrats are likely to take full advantage of that political reality as they move ahead with a select committee to examine the siege on Congress.

Which leaves Republicans with a big challenge: how to discredit and distance themselves from that investigation — which moderates and conservatives alike are criticizing as a partisan setup — and retake the House in 2022, a tantalizingly close possibility that would doom President Joe Biden's domestic agenda.

“Unfortunately, right now, it seems like we're incapable of having the serious or the real conversations about these things because everybody's trying to utilize it for electoral gain one way or the other,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said in an interview.

Trump allies, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, are already preparing for the Jan. 6 committee to turn into a partisan cage match. McCarthy has yet to indicate whether he plans to name Republicans to the panel, saying Monday night that he wants to hear more details before deciding.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks to reporters outside the White House after a meeting with President Joe Biden, Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Privately, lawmakers predict that McCarthy — if he opts to appoint members — will gravitate towards controllable Trump acolytes who can work to snarl the select committee's progress.

Already some of the GOP's biggest firebrands are asking McCarthy to join the panel, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia publicly pushing to be seated on the panel. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is also openly expressing his interest. And Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado is also seeking to land a spot, according to GOP conference sources.

On the other end of the House Republican spectrum, two members who voted to certify Trump's loss said on condition of anonymity that they want nothing to do with the select committee out of fear that its work would capture Trump’s notice.

“I worry that a more partisan committee will make it harder for the findings of the investigation to be viewed as credible by the broad swaths of the electorate, and that's my main concern," said Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), who voted to impeach Trump in February.

Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), another pro-impeachment voter who opposes the select committee, told POLITICO: "It's exactly what I was hoping we wouldn't have, because it's going to be politicized." Katko worked with Democrats to negotiate a 9/11-style commission to examine the insurrection, but GOP leadership ultimately torpedoed his efforts.

Yet two of Trump's most active critics in the party, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), have declined to pull their names from consideration as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential GOP appointee to the committee.

The vast majority of House Republicans who are wary of the select committee have their reasons: They claim it will be a partisan effort to attack Trump and warn that McCarthy could be called as a witness as Democrats seek further details from a profanity-laced phone call he had with the former president during the attack.

McCarthy has said he's willing to testify and repeated that sentiment Friday, responding that "I have no problem talking about Trump."

Democrats are eager to use the moment to make McCarthy's conversation an uncomfortable one. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead impeachment manager during Trump's Senate trial in February, said most Republicans have moved on from the attack in record time.

"There were people who went from being brave defenders of the House door to revisionists, asserting that the whole thing was a 'tourist group.' And that did happen in record time," Raskin said in an interview, adding that "we are all partisan to different degrees, but there's certain things where we shouldn't be partisan."

Raskin's party isn't alone in looking for McCarthy to take a stronger stand against Republicans who have downplayed the pro-Trump riot. D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was injured during the response on Jan. 6, pressed McCarthy during a meeting Friday afternoon to chastise those GOP lawmakers. According to Fanone, McCarthy said he would handle it on a “personal level,” a response that disappointed the officer.

But House Republicans have their own scores to settle over the insurrection.

Chief among them is the allegation by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) that some GOP members participated in reconnaissance of the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6 attack — a claim she has yet to substantiate.

Sherrill, a former Navy pilot who also previously worked in the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey, said she has turned over information about what she saw on the eve of the riot to federal investigators, noting that any action on such material tends to take time.

“We’re seeing information come out about the planning that went into that,” Sherrill said. “I don’t really want to comment on what I’ve seen. Some of it is still under investigation, so it hasn’t been publicly released right now."

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., talks to reporters after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with the Democratic Caucus and was persuaded to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. Sherrill is one of several freshmen Democrats with national security backgrounds who wrote an op-ed letter to the Washington Post calling for Trump's impeachment. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sherrill said she hopes the Jan. 6 select committee can help shed light on tours she claims she saw members of Congress conduct when such movement through the Capitol was restricted due to the pandemic.

Her GOP colleagues are unmoved and in some cases infuriated by her charges. Republicans argue that Sherrill shifted the burden of proof onto them while failing to offer evidence to support her allegation. GOP staff on the House Administration Committee have reviewed security footage from the two days before the riot, watching hundreds of hours of tape, according to panel Republicans — finding nothing to suggest a reconnaissance tour.

In addition to seeking an apology, a group of House Republicans have filed an ethics complaint against Sherrill.

“They know that they're making this up and they know they're liable for it, and they're just looking for a scapegoat,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who is leading the ethics complaint against Sherrill.

Despite the spiking intensity over the select committee, there are signs of a post-insurrection thaw in the House after tensions erupted on the floor. Many Democrats had refused to work with Republicans who voted against certifying Biden's win, but that sentiment is fading somewhat.

And Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) has teamed up with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) to host dinners designed to reach across the aisle. They dubbed their gatherings the "Reagan-O’Neill Club," inspired by former President Ronald Reagan's ability to put partisanship aside and socialize with former Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) in the 1980s.

“That relationship caused them to work together to solve the country’s problems,” said Green, noting that no politics was discussed when Reagan and O'Neill met after hours. “We are not asking people not to fight for their ideas but hoping that as we get to know each other's stories, we will dial down the rhetoric and get something done.”

Sarah Ferris, Nicholas Wu and Melanie Zanona contributed.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misidentified one of Rep. Kelly Armstrong's committee assignments.
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Stefanik faces first House conservative foe in her push to replace Cheney

Elise Stefanik on Tuesday faced her first formal pushback from a conservative colleague on her apparent glide path to the House GOP's No. 3 leadership spot after Liz Cheney's expected ouster from the role.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, sent a memo to every Republican office in the chamber arguing that Stefanik should not be serving in leadership. But Roy hardly embraced Cheney's continued presence atop the conference, also asserting that the Wyoming Republican no longer deserves to be conference chair.

Despite multiple Freedom Caucus members privately expressing reluctance — if not outright opposition — to Stefanik over concerns about the New Yorker's past moderate record, Roy is one of only a few House conservatives to take his criticism public. He focused his case against Stefanik on past votes that he contended should disqualify her from leading the conference on messaging.

"We must avoid putting in charge Republicans who campaign as Republicans but then vote for and advance the Democrats’ agenda once sworn in -- that is, that we do not make the same mistakes that we did in 2017,” Roy wrote in his memo, which was first obtained by POLITICO.

Roy also warned about the speedy effort by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other GOP leaders to whip rank-and-file members for Stefanik even before Cheney is voted out of the No. 3 role.

"Therefore, with all due respect to my friend, Elise Stefanik, let us contemplate the message Republican leadership is about to send by rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led to the 2018 ass-kicking we received by Democrats," Roy wrote.

Stefanik has sought to reassure her skeptical conservative colleagues. She's pledged to only serve the rest of the current Congress as conference chair and that she would resign before taking a vote that differs from the majority of House Republicans. If Roy’s memo is any guide, though, those promises have yet to fully win over the right flank of the conference.

Asked to address the burgeoning conservative criticism of her bid, Stefanik told reporters Tuesday that “we have a great deal of support from the Freedom Caucus and others."

Roy was one of the few Freedom Caucus members who voted against challenges to President Joe Biden’s win in January. He also defended Cheney at the time, saying that her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump over the Capitol riot was a vote of conscience.

But Roy later soured on Cheney. After Cheney publicly split from McCarthy about whether Trump should speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference — while the two House GOP leaders were sharing a stage — Roy said publicly that she had “forfeited the right to be chair of the Republican conference.”

“Most Americans do not know who the Republican Conference Chairwoman is or what she does. All they care about is whether we are fighting for them and fighting to stop the radical Democrat agenda that has us driving at full speed ahead toward that iceberg,” Roy wrote.

He added: "This is actually why Liz Cheney will lose her job as Chair this week: she forfeited her ability to be our spokesperson by pulling us into distraction.”

The vote to remove Cheney is set for Wednesday and Roy says he plans to vote to recall her, despite “considering her a friend and trying to give her a chance to succeed.”

The Texan called for his fellow GOP colleagues to either find a No. 3 leader who "reflects our conservative values," or leave the position vacant altogether to focus on a "strong agenda" rather than a leadership role that voters don't care about.

Stefanik has won endorsements from some powerful conservatives, including Freedom Caucus co-founder turned McCarthy ally Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Trump himself. The former president has favored Stefanik since she assumed a visible role defending him during his first impeachment trial, and her conversion from a moderate to a Trump defender is enough to convince some Republicans of her leadership bona fides.

Cheney survived a February effort by conservatives to oust her, winning 145-61 in a secret-ballot vote. But this time, Cheney is not whipping votes to try to protect her role in leadership ahead of the high-profile eviction, and her ouster is expected.

In addition, this spring GOP leaders are spearheading the move to boot Cheney while some of her former allies, including moderates, have broken with her over repeated Trump criticism that they say distracts from their efforts to win back the House in 2022.

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The freshman class starts to mix and mingle

They took office just three days before an armed mob stormed Capitol Hill. They wear masks to work and vote in turns to increase social distancing. They can’t do class meet-and-greets or other typical new-to-the-Hill social events. Making friends in Congress is much harder now than in years past, to say the least.

Meet the House freshman class of the 117th Congress: nearly 60 ambitious dreamers and cynical opportunists, hard-nosed businesswomen and local potentates, establishment rising stars and complete outsiders. They’ve entered a historic body at a historical low point — at odds with itself and torn over Donald Trump.

Yet after a few tension-filled weeks, some semblance of normalcy is emerging as these new members begin to figure out the kind of lawmakers they aim to be. A natural sorting among the freshman class has begun to take shape.

Not all are friends or formal allies, but they’ve embraced political identities that signal how they intend to influence events on the Hill and beyond. So we’ve placed them into groups that will help illuminate the next two years. TL;DR: It’s gonna be one helluva wild ride.

The 44 GOP freshmen are split between a raft of more diverse, mainstream recruits and a vocal band of Trump-backed hard-liners, while the 15 new Democrats include both vocal progressives and a contingent of moderates. Here’s how they break down:


Republicans

Trump’s battalion

Even prior to arriving on Capitol Hill, there was a group of House GOP freshmen who emerged as conservative firebrands with widespread recognition, often because of controversial views or remarks.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has embraced the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory, is part of this pack, along with the gun-toting Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and 25-year-old Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), one of the youngest members to ever serve in Congress.

All three voted against certifying the 2020 election results, with Greene and Boebert among the most vocal proponents of Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen. Cawthorn spoke at the pro-Trump rally that preceded the Capitol riot, but he has since joined a letter with other GOP freshmen in expressing a willingness to work with the new Democratic president on bipartisan issues like Covid relief.

Other new Trump allies looking to make their mark early in the new Congress include Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), who is leading the push to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership position over her decision to vote for impeachment. There’s also Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) who drew fire for praising Adolf Hitler in a speech to Trump supporters two days after taking office, though she has since apologized.

Some of the newest conservatives are also big skeptics of measures to tackle the pandemic, with Greene refusing to wear a mask sometimes in Congress and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) calling the coronavirus a “phony pandemic.”

Republican resistance

While Trump’s grip on the GOP is still tighter than ever, a few freshman Republicans are stepping up to urge the party to change course.

Most notably, that includes Reps. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). Meijer became the only freshman member of the GOP to vote to impeach Trump, and he has called for Republicans to make fundamental changes so that voters can trust them again.

“I think we need to get the Republican Party back to a point where we have a shared set of facts and a common understanding of truth,” Meijer told POLITICO in a recent interview. “The fact that some politicians, some in Congress, who have propagated, who have amplified, and who have profited off of those lies — you know, they're not the ones who were killed on Jan. 6.”

While Mace ultimately chose not to impeach Trump, she had signaled her support to censure the outgoing president. In various interviews, she has fiercely criticized Trump and blamed him for inciting the rioters who stormed the Capitol.

Mace, who was the first woman to graduate from The Citadel military college, has also appeared to take on some of her fellow freshman, if not by name. “We have allowed QAnon conspiracy theorists to lead us,” she lamented recently.

The Texas Six

With the pandemic preventing gatherings at the usual hotel bars and other meet-and-greet events typically set up for House freshmen to get to know each other, some lawmakers are forming more tight-knit groups within their state delegations.

That's been particularly the case for the Texas delegation, which boasts a bunch of new members. The Texas Six, as they’re called on the Hill, include GOP Reps. Troy Nehls, Anthony Gonzales, Ronny Jackson, Beth Van Duyne, Pat Fallon, and August Pfluger. (This does not include Rep. Pete Sessions, who had previously served in the House for more than a decade and is back for another term in a different Texas district after being defeated in 2018).

Four of the six Texas freshmen also jumped to action to help Capitol police respond to rioters trying to break into the House chamber on Jan. 6 to overturn Biden's victory. The lawmakers say the moment further bonded them together as they stood side-by-side in a potentially life-threatening situation.

The Force

Then there is “the Force,” a group of GOP freshmen positioning themselves as the GOP counterweight to the progressive Squad.

The initial band of four includes Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.), María Elvira Salazar (Fla.) and Victoria Spartz (Ind.). The lawmakers connected during freshman orientation because of their shared family histories living under dictatorships — and they say the GOP can gain ground on an anti-socialism message.

The foursome in the Force have also sought to bring in other members of the freshman class, particularly in a bid to showcase the record number of women and people of color who joined the ranks of the House GOP in 2020. That includes Mace, as well as Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel, Korean immigrants who flipped a pair of swing districts in California and who have long been friends .


Democrats

Friends of the Squad

The most well-known Democratic crew in the Capitol is the progressive squad formed two years ago by then-freshman Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)andRashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

Now, they’ve got reinforcements in freshman Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who both took down Democratic incumbents in 2020. “Squad up,” Bush tweeted with a photo of the six lawmakers on the day they were sworn in.

Along with a handful of other liberal freshmen like Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), Marie Newman (D-Ill.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), the caucus’ left flank is emboldened and eager to push Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ambitious reforms.

Moderate Majority-Makers

Finally, there is a small group of more moderate freshman Democrats, who will also hold real sway this year amid Democrats’ slim majority.

Such freshmen include Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.), the only Democrat to flip a House seat from red to blue this past election cycle in Atlanta’s quickly expanding suburbs, and Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.).

Both women previously ran in 2018, but lost to GOP incumbents. Bourdeaux won an open seat in 2020 after Rep. Rob Woodall chose to retire rather than face another tough challenge. Manning was elected after some redistricting in the state.

There's also Rep. Frank Mrvan, a moderate Democrat from Indiana, who ran a campaign aimed at winning back support from working class men and women who supported Trump.

Pelosi will be eager to protect her most vulnerable members from having to take tough votes ahead of the 2022 election, when the House will be up for grabs. And if she’s going to get the party’s agenda passed, she’ll need to win over the centrists.

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