U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger delivered an emotion-laden speech as a House select committee opened its investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection Tuesday, praising law enforcement's defense of the U.S. Capitol and criticizing fellow Republicans who tried to block the probe and cast it as a partisan attack. After four members of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and the Capitol Police testified about battling insurrectionists that day, Kinzinger choked back tears and said, "You guys may individually feel a little broken. You guys all talk about the effects you have to deal with and, you know, you talk about the impact of that day. But you guys won. You guys held. "Democracies are not defined by our bad days," Kinzinger added. "We're defined by how we come back from bad days. How we take accountability for that. And for all the overheated rhetoric surrounding this committee, our mission is very simple: Let's define the truth. And, it's to ensure accountability." Kinzinger, of Channahon, is one of two Republican members on the select panel chosen by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. An outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and his followers in the GOP, he was selected after Pelosi vetoed two of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy's choices for the committee, prompting McCarthy to withdraw all five of his selections. Pelosi created the committee after Senate Republicans and most House GOP members opposed the formation of an independent outside commission to look into the deadly insurrection, which was aimed at blocking the Electoral College vote count that certified Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump. Kinzinger said he was "frustrated" that several months have passed since a violent mob infiltrated the Capitol and so many questions remain unanswered. "We still don't know exactly what happened. Why? Because many in my party have treated this as just another partisan fight," he said. "It's toxic and it's a disservice to the officers and their families, to the staff and the employees of the Capitol complex, to the American people who deserve the truth." Kinzinger has attacked Trump for continuing to falsely promote the belief that the November 2020 election was stolen, while also criticizing McCarthy and other House Republicans for promoting Trump as the GOP's leader. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, like Kinzinger one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his role in promoting the insurrection, is the other GOP member of the select panel.