The House of Representatives will vote on a Republican-backed measure to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump. The measure, introduced by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, seeks to condemn Schiff and fine him $16 million over his accusations that Trump had ties to Russia ahead of the 2016 election. House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark announced that lawmakers would vote on a motion to table the measure, effectively killing it. It’s unclear whether the motion has enough support to pass, and at least one Republican lawmaker, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, said he will vote to kill the censure measure.
As highlighted by NY1, the House of Representatives is set to consider a Republican-backed measure to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump. The measure was introduced by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a staunch Trump ally, and seeks to condemn Schiff for his accusations that the former president had ties to Russia ahead of the 2016 election. If passed, the measure would also seek to fine Schiff $16 million, which Luna says is half the cost of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Schiff, who was the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee from 2015-2019 and the panel’s chairman from 2019 until earlier this year, called the motion “false and defamatory” and blasted it as “the latest attempt to gratify the former President’s MAGA allies, and distract from Donald Trump’s legal troubles.” Schiff also served as lead manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020 over accusations that he threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for help in his reelection bid.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced Wednesday that lawmakers would vote on a motion to table the measure, effectively killing it. It’s unclear whether the motion has enough support to pass; at least one Republican lawmaker, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, said that he will vote to kill the censure measure.
The measure seeks to condemn Schiff “for conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives.” Luna introduced the measure the same day that Trump pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom to 37 felony charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents. Schiff, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in California to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has been a vocal critic of Trump and his policies, and has frequently clashed with Republicans over his handling of the Russia investigation and the impeachment proceedings.
The censure measure was introduced as a privileged resolution, meaning the House must consider the bill by Thursday. It remains to be seen whether the measure will pass, but it has already sparked controversy and debate among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Some Republicans have praised the measure as a necessary step to hold Schiff accountable for his actions, while Democrats have criticized it as a politically motivated attack on a prominent member of their party.
Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the censure measure is likely to have lasting implications for Schiff and his political career. As he seeks to win a Senate seat in California and continue his work in Congress, he will need to navigate the fallout from this latest controversy and find a way to move forward in a deeply divided political landscape.
