If Republicans retake the House majority in 2022 – as is increasingly expected – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will likely become Speaker and plans to remove far-left Democrats Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from their respective House committees.
Democrats set this new standard with their removals of Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committees last year and McCarthy has said that his party will not hesitate to use this same standard against Democrats.
Republicans also point to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to seat two of McCarthy’s picks for the Jan. 6 select committee as another precedent-setter.
But McCarthy’s case against these three Democrats goes beyond a tit-for-tat response. McCarthy argues these Democrats should never have been on these committees to begin with.
As Axios notes:
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McCarthy pointed to Swalwell’s association with a Chinese spy, reported by Axios. Swalwell, who cut ties with the spy after being alerted to her activities by federal investigators…
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In the case of Omar, McCarthy quoted her 2019 remark that a pro-Israel lobbying group’s influence in Congress is “all about the Benjamins,” which was blasted by members of both parties at the time as anti-Semitic.
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McCarthy also said Schiff “lied to the American public” with his support of the unverified Steele dossier, which alleged extensive ties between former President Trump and Russia.
Two of the Democrats replied as expected, making it all about former President Trump, white supremacy and partisan talking points about Republicans potentially overturning 2024 election:
Swalwell responded to McCarthy on Twitter: “McCarthy is targeting me for 1 reason: I’m effective. He wants to carry water (& sort Starbursts) for Trump’s Big Lie & not be called out. He’s projecting onto me b/c he’s incapable of facing down the Ku Klux Klan elements in his caucus.”
Schiff spokesperson Lauren French told Axios:
Nevertheless, allowing McCarthy to get anywhere near the Speaker’s gavel would be catastrophic — not just because of his propensity for falsehoods and smears, but because he will exist solely to do Donald Trump’s bidding — even potentially overturning the 2024 results. ADN