(Headline USA) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he will remove Democrat Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., from their committees when Republicans take control of Congress in January.
During an interview with Fox Business on Sunday, McCarthy, who is vying to become the next House Speaker, said he would keep his promise to block Swalwell and Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee and Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Swalwell’s connection with a Chinese spy, Schiff’s promotion of the debunked Russia collusion hoax, and Omar’s anti-Semitic comments disqualify them from serving on their respective committees, McCarthy argued.
“One thing I said from the very beginning, Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector,” he said. “Why would we ever give him a security clearance and the secrets to America? So, I will not allow him to be on Intel.”
Regarding Schiff and Omar, McCarthy said: “You have Adam Schiff, who lied to the American public time and again – we will not allow him to be on the Intel Committee either,” he continued. “Look at Congresswoman Omar, her antisemitic comments that have gone forward. We’re not going to allow her to be on Foreign Affairs.”
McCarthy said Republicans will “stand up to what’s happening, not just in the halls in Congress, but what’s happening to our higher education institutions, the antisemitism that’s going on these campuses and others.”
“We will investigate that as well and stop this to make sure that America does have the freedoms that we said we would keep, and we will stand up to it as we move forward,” he added.
McCarthy has been nominated for the speakership by several House Republicans. But to win the position, he will need 218 votes. Republicans are projected to hold anywhere from 220 to 224 seats, which means he will need to win over his entire caucus.
Already, several more conservative Republican representatives have vowed to challenge McCarthy’s bid, one of them being Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
“We have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives,” he said last week.
