“Since Feb. 15, when she first called for a bipartisan commission to look into the insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Pelosi has repeatedly forced McCarthy back on the defensive. Pelosi has tried to push him into a political choice she knows McCarthy can’t make: between Trump, still the most powerful figure in the Republican Party and someone McCarthy can’t afford to alienate if he ever wants to become speaker, and his own responsibility toward the Congress as an institution. Pelosi, in fact, has tried to make McCarthy himself the issue, and to a point, she’s succeeded. McCarthy has faced numerous questions about his interactions with Trump on Jan. 6. Many Democrats want to see him interviewed by the select committee, although it’s unclear whether that will happen” Punchbowl News reports.

“McCarthy initially objected in February to the number of GOP and Democratic seats on the proposed panel, and on how subpoenas would be issued, Pelosi agreed to his suggestions, only to have McCarthy change his position and raise a completely different objection over the scope of the investigation. When Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Homeland Security Committee, cut a deal in mid-May with GOP Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), ranking member on Homeland, over legislation to create a bipartisan commission, McCarthy ended up publicly repudiating the agreement his own member made. Thirty-five House Republicans voted for the bill anyway, only to see it blocked by Senate Republicans. And now with Cheney on the select committee, Pelosi has once more forced McCarthy into a tough situation. Compared to the proposal that Thompson and Katko hashed out – or the compromise floated by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) – the select committee approved by the House is bad format for McCarthy and the Republicans. There’s no time limit on the investigation, Republicans have no say in who or how many subpoenas can be issued and Pelosi has a veto over McCarthy’s appointments. Even Republicans’ best arguments – that Democrats are just trying to use the Jan. 6 attack against the GOP in 2022 and the current standing committees, as well as the FBI and Justice Department, could handle the probe – have been blunted by what’s happened during the last four-plus months.