Schiff Cries On TikTok About ‘MAGA Republicans’
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently confirmed that Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) will be removed from the House Intelligence Committee. Additionally, the House will vote on the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Schiff in particular did not take the news well and perhaps saw an opportunity to bolster his political aspirations with his radical progressive base.
On Wednesday, Schiff, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, took to the Chinese-owned TikTok app after learning he was being removed from the Intelligence Committee. He said he was removed “for doing my job, for holding Trump accountable and standing up to the extreme MAGA Republicans.”
He then asked for donations.
In addition to Schiff being stripped of the lucrative committee position, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is moving to prevent him from accessing or viewing any classified documents in any context.
Gaetz this week introduced the “Preventing Extreme Negligence with Classified Information Licenses” (PENCIL Act) resolution. The Florida congressman first introduced the resolution in 2019 when Republicans did not have control of the House.
The name “PENCIL Act” alludes to President Donald Trump’s nickname for Schiff: “Pencil-Neck.”
Gaetz stated, “Congressman Adam Schiff led the effort for years to weaponize lies from the Clinton campaign and a corrupt Department of Justice to smear President Trump while destroying any trust the country had left in America’s intelligence agencies.”
He added that “Speaker McCarthy kept his promise to remove Rep. Schiff from the Intelligence Committee, and with the PENCIL Resolution, we will express the sense of Congress that he should be barred from accessing any classified information at all. He can no longer be trusted by his colleagues in Congress or the American people.”
Meanwhile, Schiff announced on Thursday that he would be running for a U.S. Senate seat from California. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) six-year term ends in 2024, and she has reportedly struggled with extensive memory loss. She has filed to run for reelection but has yet to declare a campaign for a sixth full term.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has also announced her candidacy for Feinstein’s seat and in doing so criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) by arguing that the U.S. Senate is a place where democracy “gets rigged.”
The move by McCarthy to remove Schiff and others from key committees, as well as the push by Gaetz to ban Schiff from accessing classified information, highlights the ongoing political tensions between Republicans and Democrats in the House. It also sets the stage for what is likely to be a contentious 2024 election cycle in California as various Democrats, including Schiff, vie for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
