Republicans Seething Over Pelosi's Move

The special House panel set up to investigate the Capitol riot will start hearing testimony on Tuesday, but it's still not clear whether the final makeup of the panel is set. As of Tuesday morning, seven Democrats and two Republicans were on board after political sniping between Nancy Pelosi and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy. Pelosi has appointed the two Republicans—Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom voted to impeach Donald Trump—while McCarthy has yanked all of his allotted five picks and is refusing to participate. Because of that, Pelosi still could fill another four slots, and she has hinted she might pick more Republicans, reports the Washington Post. More:

• Testimony: On Tuesday, the panel is scheduled to begin hearing testimony from four police officers about the physical and verbal abuse they endured trying to keep rioters out of the Capitol.
• Retribution: CNN reports that more rank-and-file GOP House members—and not just conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus—want McCarthy to punish Cheney and Kinzinger. One idea is to strip them of all their committee posts, though the story notes that Pelosi, as House speaker, could simply reappoint them to the committees.
• Reward: Democrats, meanwhile, plan to reward Cheney by giving her a prime speaking slot when the hearing opens on Tuesday, reports the Post. She is expected to deliver one of two opening statements.
• Moot point? Critics say a panel made up mostly of Democrats won't have have much validity in the end. And at Hot Air, Ed Morrissey makes the case that the problem is larger than that. Why are any lawmakers at all on such a panel? "These are people who should be called to testify, not running the investigation," he writes. This type of body needs outsiders. "Anything less is partisan elbow-throwing to little purpose."

(More Nancy Pelosi stories.)