House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has tapped one of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment managers, among other officials, to join the new sweeping investigative panel led by the GOP.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., vowed this week that Republicans on that panel — the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government — will leave “no stone unturned” in conducting oversight on the Justice Department and the FBI, stressing the GOP now has “subpoena power.”
Jeffries, in a letter to colleagues, picked Del. Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat who represents the Virgin Islands, as their party’s top official on the panel.
Plaskett was the first nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives to serve as an impeachment manager.
Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced additional committee appointments on Thursday, including members of the three new GOP-created panels: the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Jeffries selected Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., as the new ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence — a move that came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear he would block appointments of Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats.
Plaskett spoke on the Senate floor during the second impeachment trial against Trump, presenting the Democrats’ argument that he played a role in organizing and ordering the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol when Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is now the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, was once Plaskett’s law professor at American University, Politico reported.
Jeffries chose three members of the Oversight Committee for the “weaponization” panel. They are Reps. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.; Gerry Connolly, D-Va.; and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. Goldman, a first-year congressman, served as counsel for House Democrats during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Other Democrats tapped by Jeffries for the panel were Reps. Linda Sánchez of California, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, John Garamendi of California, Colin Allred of Texas and Sylvia Garcia of Texas.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.