‘Authoritarian Reign’: House Freedom Caucus Urges McCarthy to Oust ‘Intolerable’ Pelosi

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recently ushered in a chorus of criticism from the chamber’s Republicans after opting to bar Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) from serving on the Capitol riot select committee. The GOP officials had been denied the congressional panel over their “antics” following the 6 January violence.

The House Freedom Caucus has called on US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to force a vote to oust House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from her post after she vetoed two Republican picks for the Capitol riot select committee, a letter addressed to the Republican official revealed on Friday.

The conservative group’s letter specifically called for a privileged motion to be called by July 31 “to vacate the chair and end Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as speaker of the House”, effectively laying down a new foundation to bolster partisan tensions even further.

“Speaker Pelosi’s tenure is destroying the House of Representatives and our ability to faithfully represent the people we are here to serve,” reads the letter, adding that the congressional leader has “championed unconstitutional changes like allowing proxy voting and insulting security measures like metal detectors for members coming to the floor to vote”.

“That abuse cannot go unchecked,” officials underscored.

— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) July 23, 2021

​And then came the straw that broke the camel’s back: Pelosi’s decision to prohibit Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) from sitting on the 6 January select committee.

The House Freedom Caucus described Pelosi’s move to reject two of the five Republican appointments as “intolerable,” noting that the decision further highlighted the Democrat leader “has no interest in representative democracy, let alone protecting institutional norms.”

Earlier, Pelosi explained to reporters that past statements made by Jordan and Banks “made it ridiculous” to have them serve on a congressional panel “seeking the truth” about the January storming of the US Capitol.

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announces the withdrawal of his nominees to serve on the special committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as two of the Republican nominees, Reps' Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN), standby during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2021

© REUTERS / Elizabeth Frantz

“When statements are ridiculous and fall into the realm of, ‘You must be kidding,’ there’s no way that they’re going to be on the committee,” Pelosi added.

Also cited in the letter was the February decision to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of her committee assignments over past incendiary comments and support of violence against her Democratic counterparts. At the time, the resolution came down 230 to 199, with 11 Republicans crossing the aisle.

“Republicans, under your leadership, must show the American people that we will act to protect our ability to represent their interests,” the group concluded in their letter to McCarthy.

Although the Republican initiative is slated to be quickly shot down in the Democrat-controlled chamber, the one-page letter will inevitably serve as a test for McCarthy as he will likely need the group’s backing to secure a potential House speaker post in 2022.