The Democrats threatened with losing their committee assignments come January under presumed Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are not finding high-powered allies on their own side.
A half-dozen top House Democrats refused to comment on McCarthy’s plan to axe left-wing Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar from their posts on the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, respectively, Fox News reported on Tuesday.
That list includes Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn as well as the three Democratic lawmakers seen as most likely to take their leadership roles in the next Congress, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar.
Fox noted none of them returned a request for comment about McCarthy’s pledge to boot all three once he takes charge.
Perhaps their silence is attributable to the fact that McCarthy is following Pelosi’s precedent.
The outgoing speaker removed GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar for public comments they made.
In Greene’s case, it was remarks that were considered anti-Semitic which was made before she was elected. Gosar was punished for sharing a cartoonish social media post that some suggested had called for violence against radical Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat, actually agreed with Pelosi and advocated, even from the House floor, that Greene be tossed off her committees.
McCarthy has said recently that Schiff and Swalwell must be kicked off the Intelligence Committee because of doubts about their trustworthiness.
He criticized Schiff for spending years promoting lies about former President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russian subversives, and cited Swalwell’s connection to a Chinese spy.
As for Omar, McCarthy said she should be dumped from the Foreign Affairs Committee for anti-Semitic comments.
McCarthy has said the trio could retain seats on other panels, which are not as powerful or influential as the threatened assignments.
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