OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Speaker of the House and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy may not be able to keep one of the promises he made when he was campaigning for the top position, and it would not be his fault.
Two Republicans have indicated that they may stand in the way of the Speaker axing Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from her committee assignment the way he axed Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee, The Hill reported.
Republican Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Nancy Mace of South Carolina have hinted that they will not support it.
“Two wrongs do not make a right. As I spoke against it on the House floor two years ago, I will not support this charade again,” Rep. Spartz said.
The reference was to when Democrats axed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar from their committee assignments.
“I’m not going to be a hypocrite just because Republicans are in the majority now. It’s not been a precedent in Congress to kick people off of their committees because of things that they say, even if you vehemently disagree with those things,” Rep. Mace said, but she did say she was not a definite “no.”
Those two votes would not normally stop him, as he could still get by on getting 219 Republican votes, but Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube fell off a ladder and will not be in the House voting.
“I am blessed to have a great support team in my wife Jennifer as well as numerous friends and family, including the Steube pups!
“Grateful for everyone’s prayers and well-wishes as I recover from a fractured pelvis, a punctured lung, and several torn ligaments in my neck,” he said.
“While I will be sidelined in Sarasota for several weeks, I will be carrying out as many of my congressional duties as possible, and our DC and district staff continue to be readily available to assist Floridians in FL-17.
“I’m eager to rejoin my colleagues in Washington as soon as possible!” he said.
I’m eager to rejoin my colleagues in Washington as soon as possible!
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) January 24, 2023
He could still get it done if he got every Republican vote, but one top Democrat thinks that is not going to happen.
“There’s already two Republicans that have indicated that they won’t vote to put her off, and I think others will come aboard also. So I don’t think it’s going to be a simple vote. I think that she has a good chance of staying,” Rep. Gregory Meeks said.
Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell joined Rep. Adam Schiff to complain about being removed from his committee.
“We will not be quiet,” he said to reporters. “We’re not going away. I think he will regret giving all three of us more time on our hands. But at the end of the day our mission is to restore the credibility and integrity of this institution of which the Speaker has so gravely, so gravely smashed and destroyed.”
Democrat Eric Swalwell — who was rejected from the Intel Committee because of his past relationship with a Chinese spy — says he "will not be quiet" and is on a "mission" to "restore the credibility and integrity" of the House. 🥴 pic.twitter.com/LibpadcA8h
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 25, 2023
It came after Schiff complained about being removed from the committees.
“Kevin McCarthy just kicked me and @RepSwalwell off the Intelligence Committee. This is petty, political payback for investigating Donald Trump. If he thinks this will stop me, he will soon find out just how wrong he is. I will always defend our democracy,” he said on Twitter.
Kevin McCarthy just kicked me and @RepSwalwell off the Intelligence Committee.
This is petty, political payback for investigating Donald Trump.
If he thinks this will stop me, he will soon find out just how wrong he is.
I will always defend our democracy.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 25, 2023
McCarthy delivered on a previous pledge to bar two members of California’s Democratic congressional delegation from serving on the Select Committee on Intelligence.
The California Republican blocked Schiff and Swalwell from the panel, fulfilling a promise he made before the midterm elections to remove them should the GOP win back the House majority and make him speaker.
“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had written to McCarthy on Saturday asking that both Schiff and Swalwell be seated on the Intel panel, where membership assignments come solely at the discretion of the Speaker,” The Hill reported.
However, McCarthy countered that previous actions by both lawmakers have made them unqualified to serve on such a sensitive committee.
“In order to maintain a standard worthy of this committee’s responsibilities, I am hereby rejecting the appointments of Representative Adam Schiff and Representative Eric Swalwell to serve on the Intelligence Committee,” McCarthy responded to Jeffries on Tuesday.
The Hill added:
Republicans have been up in arms over the issue since 2021, when Democrats staged votes to remove GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) from their committees following revelations that they had promoted violence against some of their Democratic colleagues. The eviction votes came after McCarthy declined to punish either lawmaker internally within the GOP conference, which is typically where such disciplinary actions are meted out.
Still, McCarthy on Tuesday denied that his decision regarding Schiff and Swalwell was retribution for Greene and Gosar.
“This is not anything political. This is not similar to what the Democrats did,” McCarthy told reporters late Tuesday afternoon outside his Capitol Hill office.
