House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has officially denied Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, seats on the panel.
The action comes as the new Republican majority is laying out its plans and priorities for the session, which include a focus on oversight and investigations of President Biden’s administration.
McCarthy refuted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ request to keep Schiff and Swalwell on the committee. Both members have previously served on the panel, with Schiff serving as chair from 2019 to 2022, and both have been involved in investigations and impeachment proceedings involving former President Donald Trump.
The House Intelligence Committee is expected to investigate the classified documents discovered in Biden’s Delaware home and Washington, D.C., office, alleged collusion between the FBI and social media companies, the origins of COVID-19, and other politically sensitive issues under new Republican leadership.
Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of “political vengeance” for denying them access to the House Intelligence Committee.
Schiff said this in a conference on wednesday morning
“His objection appears to be that I was the lead impeachment manager in Donald Trump’s first impeachment and that we held him accountable for withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from Ukraine, So, I believe he is now carrying the dirty water for the former president by attempting to remove me from the intelligence committee.”