Schiff: ‘The Day I Start to Incite Violence...Then Fine, Take Me Off My Committee’
Congressman would likely run for Senate if aged Feinstein retires
Rep Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and a prominent critic of Donald Trump's, is responding to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy's threat to remove Schiff and two other Democrats from their committee assignments once Republicans claim control of the chamber next week.
Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reiterated his pledge following the November midterm elections to remove Schiff, as well as Reps Eric Swalwell (Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.), from their committee posts if he becomes speaker in the next Congress.
As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff was one of the lead investigators in the impeachment inquiry against Trump stemming from the Trump–Ukraine scandal. Trump was impeached along party lines by 228 votes to 193 in the House on December 18, 2019, making him the third president to be impeached.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named Schiff a lead impeachment manager, in which he led a team of seven House members responsible for presenting the impeachment case against Trump during his trial before the Senate.
“Well, this is the same false equivalence they often use, which is [Republican Reps] Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar were removed from their committees because they were inciting violence against fellow members of Congress,” Schiff said in an interview over the long holiday weekend. “The day I start to incite violence against people that I serve with or elsewhere, then fine, take me off my committee.
“You know, the moment I start engaging in insurrection, then fine, sanction me, but don’t give me this false equivalence, Mr. McCarthy, and suggest that somehow leading legitimate investigations of Donald Trump’s corruption with Russia, Ukraine, and January 6th is somehow legitimate basis to remove someone from a committee,” Schiff added.
Greene, of Georgia, was removed from her committee assignments last year following uproar over her past incendiary comments and apparent support of violence against Democrats.
And Gosar, of Arizona, was removed from his for using official resources to create and post an animated video depicting the killing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and violence against President Biden.
It requires a majority vote in the House to remove a member from their committee assignments.
Eying a Senate bid
Meanwhile, Schiff said he would likely run for Senate if California's 89-year-old senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, retires instead of seeking reelection in 2024.
“You know, look, I am getting a lot of encouragement to run for the Senate from people in California and colleagues here in Congress. If Senator Feinstein retires, then I will give it very serious consideration,” Schiff said. “You know, at this point, I think we’re waiting to see what Senator Feinstein has to say about her plans, but yes, it is something I’m giving serious consideration to.”
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