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Rep. Barry Loudermilk led a Capitol rioter on a tour of the House offices the day before the Jan. 6 attack.
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Now he could be next in line to head the committee overseeing Capitol security.
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The current most senior Republican, Rep. Rodney Davis, lost his primary on Tuesday to a Trump-backed challenger.
Republican Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who led a Jan. 6 rioter on a tour of the Capitol complex the day before the attackcould now be next in line to head the commission overseeing Capitol security.
That’s because Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, currently the highest-ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, lost his primary to fellow Republican Rep. Mary Miller and it is widely predicted that Republicans will regain control of the House by 2023. Loudermilk is currently the second highest ranking Republican on the panel. The committee has jurisdiction over both the Capitol Police and security on the House side of the Capitol complex.
Miller, who recently said that overthrowing Roe v. Wade was a “victory for white life” — a comment about her campaign said later was an unintentional “accident” – had the support of former President Donald Trump and criticized Davis for voting to create a bipartisan commission on Jan. 6.
Earlier this month, the committee of January 6 released images van Loudermilk who led a tour group through the House office buildings on January 5, 2021. The next day, at least one member of that tour group returned to the Capitol grounds and heard violent threats yelling at Democratic lawmakers.
“When I’m done with you, you need a brush on that bald head,” says the rally participant in the videoreferring to Pelosi.
It remains unclear whether the man entered the Capitol himself. January 6, committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson from Mississippi also noticed that the man and other visitors to the tour were taking photos of areas in the House’s office buildings that would not normally be of interest to tourists, including stairwells and tunnels.
Seeking an explanation for himself the day the images were releasedAccording to Loudermilk, the man was simply photographing a golden eagle light fixture on the wall.
“Of course I don’t support anything he said, but nobody in that group spoke or spoke that way,” Loudermilk said, referring to the man’s violent threats against Congressional Democrats.
But Loudermilk’s story about the tours changed a few times as new information emerges. He constantly points to a letter from Capitol Police to Rep. Davis stating that they considered “none of the activities we observed to be suspicious”, although they noted that Loudermilk had left the tour group unattended at one point.
While Loudermilk is next in terms of seniority, his position on the committee is not necessarily assured; Ultimately, the House Republican leadership is responsible for the committee assignments for their members.
In a statement to Insider, Loudermilk said he should “seriously consider” chairing the committee if the next speaker asked, but emphasized that his current focus is on “the important work Republicans are doing on the committee.” †
“Rodney Davis has done an amazing job as a Ranking Republican on the Committee on House Administration. It has been an honor to work under his leadership and we have a lot of work to do this year,” said Loudermilk. “Who will be the chairman of the committee for the 118e Congress will ultimately be the decision of the incoming president.”
2013 saw the former chairman John Boehner. faced criticism for appointing only white men to lead important committees in the House appointed then-Rep. Candice Miller Becomes Committee Chairdespite the fact that she had not previously served on it.
Read the original article Business Insider