McCarthy says he will oust Ilhan Omar and others from committee assignments
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declared that he intends to remove Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell (Calif), Adam Schiff (Calif.), and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) from their congressional committee assignments when Republicans take control of Congress, Axios reports.
During his Sunday appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, McCarthy vowed to keep promises he made in January to remove the three representatives from their respective committees. Though he can unilaterally remove members of select committees, doing so in a standing committee would require a vote. McCarthy reiterated his vow to remove Swalwell and Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee and Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. McCarthy cited Swalwell's alleged links to a Chinese spy, Schiff's promotion of the Steele dossier, and Omar's critiques of Israel as reasons to disqualify them from serving on their committees, per Fox News.
McCarthy's renewed commitment to removing the three Democratic representatives comes as he works to secure the vote for House Speaker. McCarthy recently won the GOP nomination for Speaker and needs 218 votes to secure the role in January.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Last year, I promised that when I became Speaker, I would remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee based on her repeated anti-semitic and anti-American remarks. I'm keeping that promise," McCarthy wrote in a tweet accompanying a video of his appearance at the meeting.
Twitter attached context to the tweet, clarifying that the "Speaker does not have the power to remove a member from a standing committee."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Will Peter Mandelson and Andrew testify to US Congress?Today's Big Question Could political pressure overcome legal obstacles and force either man to give evidence over their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Can anyone stop Donald Trump?Today's Big Question US president ‘no longer cares what anybody thinks’ so how to counter his global strongman stance?
