Schiff criticized for fundraising off historic censure vote: ‘Not something you should be proud of’
Rachel Schilke
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Members of Congress are blasting Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for fundraising off of the GOP‘s vote to censure him.
The House voted 213-209 on Wednesday to censure the California Democrat over allegations he abused the trust of his constituents by pushing the theory former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.
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While it is purely a symbolic vote that comes with no official punishment, Schiff has used the censure vote to ask for donations for his 2024 campaign.
“The GOP would rather censure me that focus on getting things done for working people. If you’re with me, help me fight back,” Schiff tweeted on Thursday morning.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchiff/status/1671875829041889282
While Schiff has not detailed how much he has raised, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said the censure pitch has been a boost for Schiff’s campaign for Senate in 2024. Gomez endorsed Schiff to take over retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat.
“Anything that brings a candidate more attention always helps, especially when people see that he’s been unjustly targeted by the hard Right,” Gomez told Punchbowl News. “It reinforces the fact that he was one of the leading Democrats against the Trump agenda. He’s been getting a lot of positives from it, not even just from fundraising.”
Republicans, however, were quick to criticize Schiff for profiting off of the censure.
“This place seems to think if you act poorly, you should politicize and benefit from it politically,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) said. “That, to me, is not something you should be proud of.”
Trump has used similar fundraising methods, most recently using his state and federal indictments to raise millions of dollars. His campaign boasted $6.6 million “and counting” following his arraignment in Miami on federal charges relating to his classified documents scandal.
“This is not just a political stunt to rile up the MAGA base — it’s an attack on all accountability and constitutional oversight,” Schiff said of the fundraiser in a campaign email sent after the vote. “But make no mistake: If they thought this was going to deter me from holding Trump and his accomplices accountable or delivering real results for California and our nation, they thought wrong.”
Other Republicans have been quick to brush off Schiff’s donation campaign, focusing more on holding Schiff accountable.
“Whether he fundraises or not, that is not the issue,” Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) said of Schiff. “It’s just the fact that he lied to the American people.”
Moore joined Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) in revising her original resolution, which called for a $16 million fine. Twenty Republicans had voted to table Luna’s resolution due to worries fining Schiff may violate the Constitution.
The revised resolution denounces Schiff for his role in the House’s 2016 investigation — a topic subjected to severe congressional scrutiny since special counsel John Durham released a report concluding the FBI had no basis for launching its own investigation into Trump.
The vote will send Schiff’s case to the House Ethics Committee as well.
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Schiff has not announced any intent to end his 2024 Senate run or his work in Congress as a result of the vote.
“This is a badge of honor,” Schiff said of the censure vote. “They go after people that are effective. I expose the corruption of the former president. I led the first impeachment trial of the former president to the first bipartisan vote to remove a president.”