“This is not a serious investigation,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who replaced Cheney last year as the No. 3 House Republican, said on Newsmax. “This is a partisan political witch hunt.”

Pelosi last year vetoed two of the five Republicans McCarthy appointed to the committee, leading House Republicans to refuse to participate. The two Republicans on the committee, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), voted to impeach Trump over his role in the insurrection and were appointed to the committee by Pelosi.

But some Republicans, including McCarthy, have continued to cast doubt on the 2020 election without evidence.

Asked in a news conference on Thursday whether he thought President Biden was the legitimate winner of the election, McCarthy refused to say. “Joe Biden is the president,” McCarthy said, using a common refrain that avoids admitting that Biden won without fraud.

“There are still a lot of problems still in the election process,” he added.