By KATELYN CARALLE
Kevin McCarthy will make good on Republican threats to kick Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell off the Intelligence Committee, as well as blocking Ilhan Omar from serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The move is likely payback for former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stripping GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from their committee assignments during the 117th Congress.
Republicans warned that Democrats would regret down the road deciding to dictate who serves on what committees. If operating under usual precedent, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would offer their names to the respective committees and McCarthy would approve.
Speaker McCarthy, however, told Punchbowl News that he’s already made the case against all three far-left representatives earning spots on these high-profile committees.
‘It’s not like it’s anything new,’ McCarthy said. ‘Remember, this is what Nancy Pelosi – this is the type of Congress she wanted to have.’
‘Swalwell can’t get a security clearance in the private sector,’ he added of his fellow California lawmaker. ‘I’m not going to give him a government security clearance,’
He continued: ‘Schiff has lied too many times to the American public. He should not be on Intel.’
All three lawmakers say they haven’t engaged in wrongdoing and should not be removed from their committees.
However, Swalwell has faced questions over his ties to a Chinese spy named Fang Fang.
The woman helped Swalwell raise money for his 2014 campaign – and while the California Democrat said he cut all ties to the alleged spy, it was shown that he remained friends with her on Facebook long after a FBI briefing on her ties to China.
Omar, for her part, has shared a slew anti-Semitic comments and sentiments, which were even criticized by other Democrats.
After the rules package passed Monday night, the next big fight is shaping up to be a partisan brawl on the floor regarding committee assignments – following more than a week of Republican bickering and chaos over who should be Speaker and what rules should govern the House in the 118th Congress.
It took 15 rounds of voting last week for Republicans to finally decide that they were OK with handing McCarthy the Speaker’s gavel.
McCarthy has been vowing since 2021 to block Swalwell, Schiff and Omar from spots on the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.
Multiple Democratic leadership sources claim that the plan is to still name Schiff and Swalwell to Intel and Omar to Foreign Affairs, according to Punchbowl.
Meanwhile, Republicans will place Greene, Gosar and the latest controversial GOP Representative George Santos to committees. Democrats, who are now in the minority, can’t do anything to stop it.
Greene was booted off the Budget and then Education and Labor panels in February 2021 over a series of offensive comments she made before being elected to Congress – including pushing conspiracy theories about Jewish people.
The Democratic resolution to remove her from her committee was backed by 11 House Republicans, as well.
It’s expected that McCarthy will place the Georgia Representative on the Oversight and Accountability Committee, among other potential panel assignments.