McCarthy blocks Democrats Schiff, Swalwell from intelligence committee - The Washington Post

“This is not thing political. This is not akin to what the Democrats did,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday evening. “Those members volition person different committees, but the Intel committee, the Intel committee’s work is simply a nationalist security. … I respect Hakeem Jeffries’s enactment of his league and his people. But integrity matters.”

Unlike astir committees, wherever enactment leaders power their appointees, the talker has last accidental implicit who sits connected the Intelligence panel.

McCarthy declined to reply aggregate questions connected whether helium volition effort to support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from serving connected the Foreign Affairs committee — a determination that would necessitate a bulk ballot successful the afloat House.

Schiff told reporters that McCarthy was “carrying the soiled water” for Trump by leaving him retired of the committee arsenic retribution for his enactment during Trump’s archetypal impeachment trial.

Republicans person been keen to contradict Democrats positions connected cardinal panels aft the Democratic-led House successful the past Congress voted to region Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committee assignments. Greene had antecedently voiced support of unit against salient Democrats, and Gosar had posted an animated video connected societal media that depicted the sidesplitting of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). In the votes to region them from their committee slots, immoderate Republicans joined Democrats successful voting yes.

Greene and Gosar were removed “after a bipartisan ballot of the House recovered them unfit to service connected lasting committees for straight inciting unit against their colleagues,” Jeffries wrote successful his letter. “It does not service arsenic precedent oregon justification for the removal of Representatives Schiff and Swalwell, fixed that they person ne'er exhibited convulsive thoughts oregon behavior.”

McCarthy, successful his formal response to Jeffries connected Tuesday, said helium cannot “put partisan loyalty up of nationalist security” and accused Democrats of misusing the sheet during the past 2 legislature terms. McCarthy claimed that, nether Democratic power the sheet “undermined its superior nationalist information and oversight missions yet leaving our federation little safe.”

In a associated connection released Tuesday aft McCarthy’s announcement, Schiff, Omar and Swalwell said they find it “disappointing but not surprising” that McCarthy would effort to support them from committee assignments. They accused him of “undermining the integrity of the Congress, and harming our nationalist information successful the process.”

“He struck a corrupt bargain successful his desperate, and astir failed, effort to triumph the Speakership, a bargain that required governmental vengeance against the 3 of us,” helium said, referring to the negotiations McCarthy engaged successful with the far-right flank of his enactment during his lengthy combat for the speakership.