Back in 2019, when the House Intelligence Committee was about to kick off public hearings for Donald Trump's first impeachment, Trump and his allies pressed Kevin McCarthy to yank centrist Republicans from the panel and install the president’s most vocal allies instead.

McCarthy wouldn’t do it.

A year-and-a-half later, McCarthy is in essentially the same position: about to decide which Republicans to appoint to the special committee on the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.