Three Dems accuse McCarthy of weaponizing House committee assignments

Three top House Democrats have publicly called out Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy for what they say is weaponizing House committee assignments after he has taken steps to remove them from their committees.

Democratic Representatives Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, and Ilhan Omar appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash, where they discussed their belief that McCarthy is making decisions based on “nakedly partisan” bias rather than their qualifications. Schiff and Swalwell were ousted from their seats on the Intelligence Committee recently and McCarthy is aiming to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Swalwell said during the interview that McCarthy, who has represented California’s 23rd District since 2013, is committing “political abuse” by using the committee assignments to appease extreme Republicans in the House. “This is some Bakersfield BS,” Rep. Swalwell said. “It’s Kevin McCarthy weaponizing his ability to commit this political abuse, because he perceives me, just like Mr. Schiff and Ms. Omar, as an effective political opponent.”

Schiff added, “How can [McCarthy], on the one hand, suggest that these are some kind of legitimate basis for unseating Democrats on committees and put someone like George Santos on any committee?” Schiff was referring to McCarthy’s decision to support freshman congressman George Santos (R-NY) who was recently revealed to have fabricated almost his entire resume in order to get elected to the House.

This week, McCarthy lost the support of one too many Republicans to remove Omar, and the move to remove her from the Foreign Affairs panel appears to be in jeopardy.