Dems dissed: Ilhan Omar, Adam Schiff, and Eric Swalwell confirmed to lose powerful positions
Cami Mondeaux
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Several high-profile House Democrats are poised to be removed from their coveted committee assignments as Republicans take control of the lower chamber and usher in a new era of priorities, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) confirmed on Monday.
McCarthy has long vowed to remove some Democrats from their top positions in retaliation for the removal of some Republicans from their committee assignments in the last Congress, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was stripped of all her committees in 2021. As part of his plans, the Republican leader has specifically targeted Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
WHY ARE SCHIFF, SWALWELL, AND OMAR ON MCCARTHY’S HIT LIST TO LOSE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS?
McCarthy confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday that the three would be stripped of their assignments, with Omar being ousted from the Foreign Affairs Committee, while Schiff and Swalwell will be removed from the Intelligence Committee. The move is largely symbolic, as Swalwell is already due to be rotated off his committee, and Omar’s assignment is subject to a House vote that would likely be rejected by the GOP majority.
McCarthy first voiced the possibility of removing Democrats from their committee assignments in mid-November, shortly after Republicans won control of the House. He especially hit out against Swalwell and Schiff, accusing the two lawmakers of being untrustworthy.
“Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector. Why would we ever give him a security clearance in the secrets to America? So, I will not allow him to be on Intel,” McCarthy told Fox News at the time. “You have Adam Schiff, who had lied to the American public time and again. We will not allow him to be on the Intel Committee either.”
Swalwell has been under scrutiny by Republicans after it was reported in 2020 that a suspected Chinese spy had developed relations with the California Democrat in what U.S. officials believe was an extensive political intelligence operation run by China between 2011 and 2015. A spokesperson for Swalwell said at the time he had not interacted with the operative in roughly six years, and the California Democrat has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Schiff has also been a target of the GOP over the last several years after he led hearings for former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, during which the former president was accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Schiff has continued to elicit the ire of the GOP with his position on the Jan. 6 committee, an investigation Republicans have denounced as politically motivated.
McCarthy has also long sought to remove “Squad” member Omar from her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, accusing the Minnesota Democrat of making antisemitic comments in the past. Omar, who was first elected in 2018, has ignited a series of controversies over her anti-Israel positions and has faced other accusations of antisemitism over specific comments.
Omar responded to McCarthy’s pledge to strip her committee assignments on Sunday, accusing the speaker of being hypocritical.
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“I do have to say for a speaker that has faced a historic humiliation — that had gotten elected after 15 rounds, surpassing a record that was set pre-Civil War — there is an opportunity here, as he has said to not do things in the way in which it has been done before,” she said. “I think it would be [hypocritical] for him to remove, you know, the first African born on the subcommittee on Africa on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where I’ve had the opportunity to not only represent my constituents but the voice of so many people who have never had a voice on the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
Members can be removed from their committee assignments simply through a majority vote, according to House rules. Removing lawmakers from their committee assignments was once considered a rare and uncommon occurrence, but the practice has been used more frequently in the last 20 years to punish members for their conduct.