House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed again on Sunday to remove Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) from the House Intelligence Committee if he once again becomes Speaker of the House.
McCarthy shared the remarks during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.
“Another change you’re going to get, Adam Schiff will no longer be on the Intel Committee when I become speaker. I promised that more than two years ago,” McCarthy said.
“[Democrats] also used the intel community as well to lie to the American public. Should those people keep their clearances? Should those people still be allowed to have information? If they’re going to be political individuals, then, no, they should not. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we need to investigate going forward,” he added.
McCarthy has called for Schiff to leave his role as the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee since 2019 over his involvement in pushing evidence of former President Donald Trump’s alleged collisions with a Russian bank.
In addition to Schiff, the Republican leader has said he’ll remove Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from their committee posts.
McCarthy attempted to first remove Swalwell from committee leadership last year over the congressman’s “years-long relationship with a suspected Chinese spy. The resolution failed along party lines.
I have filed a resolution to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.
Swalwell engaged in a years-long relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, and his conduct makes clear he has no place serving on the committee in charge of America's top secrets. pic.twitter.com/8Tb9TOh976
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) March 18, 2021
The Minority Leader’s criticism of Omar focused on her ongoing antisemitism and anti-American views. Omar pushed back on McCarthy’s comments last month over her role.
“From the moment I was elected, the Republican Party has made it their mission to use fear, xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism to target me on the House Floor and through millions of dollars of campaign ads,” Omar said in a statement.
“Whether it is Marjorie Taylor Greene holding a gun next to my head in campaign ads or Donald Trump threatening to ‘send me back’ to my country (despite the fact that I have been a proud citizen of the United States for more than 20 years), this constant stream of hate has led to hundreds of death threats and credible plots against me and my family,” she added.
McCarthy also addressed the ongoing controversy about the military’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate during Sunday’s interview.
“The vaccine mandate for the military will be lifted in the NDAA. Otherwise, the bill will not move. I’ve been very clear with the President on this,” he said.
🚨@GOPLeader to @MariaBartiromo this morning on @SundayFutures :
"The vaccine mandate for the military will be lifted in the NDAA. Otherwise, the bill will not move. I've been very clear with the President on this." pic.twitter.com/7qCMni2C6V
— SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) December 4, 2022
Despite McCarthy’s promises, he must first be reelected as Speaker of the House. He won his party’s nomination, but 31 Republicans opposed him in the vote.
The former Majority Leader will need at least 218 votes when the House returns in January. With the slim Republican advantage, it’s not yet certain he will return to his role held during the Trump administration.
At least five GOP House leaders have stated they will publicly oppose his return to the role, including Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, who recently launched his own challenge to become the next House Speaker.