US probe of Jan. 6 attack falls apart after Pelosi boots two Republicans off committee

US plans for a bipartisan committee to investigate the pro-Trump January 6 attack on the Capitol Hill have fallen apart after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicked off two Republicans from a riot committee.

Pelosi rejected Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s naming of representatives Jim Banks and Jim Jordan to the committee.

She formed a panel last month to investigate the “root causes” of the attack.

On Wednesday, she rejected the two GOP representative involve in the probe, citing their objection to President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement.

“The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision,” Pelosi noted.

The two are said to be staunch allies of former president Donald Trump. They voted against Trump’s impeachment and pushed to overturn the election results certifying Biden as president.

Trump was impeached for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol building, where lawmakers were in the process of confirming Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.

The attack resulted in the death of at least five people, including a police officer who was guarding the Congress building.

Pelosi called on McCarthy to name two new Republicans to the committee, but he instead, pulled all five Republicans he had named from the panel.

“We will run our own investigation,” McCarthy said during a news conference Wednesday.

“Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts,” he added.

The latest development marks yet another bipartisan failure in repeated attempts by members of Congress to investigate the storming of the Capitol, in more than 200 years.

Earlier this year, Pelosi proposed appointing an independent bipartisan commission.