White House: Schiff, Swalwell Should Stay on Intel Committee

Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell should remain on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence after they got the boot from Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Speaking to the press, Jean-Pierre stated:

“Representative Schiff, Representative Swalwell and also Representative [Ilhan] Omar are, you know, are expertise and bring a lot to the table when it comes to foreign policy and national security… I will say that, you know, when it comes to that committee, it should not be politicized, it should be independent… And, again, those congressional members bring a lot of expertise to that committee. And I’ll leave it there.”

This is the latest drama surrounding the two Democrats losing their Intel Committee seats, over the weekend, Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Speaker McCarthy asking that they be allowed to remain on the committee.

In response, McCarthy replied:

“I appreciate the loyalty you have to your Democrat colleagues, and I acknowledge your efforts to have two Members of Congress reinstated to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence… But I cannot put partisan loyalty ahead of national security, and I cannot simply recognize years of service as the sole criteria for membership on this essential committee. Integrity matters more.

As such, in order to maintain a standard worthy of this committee’s responsibilities, I am hereby rejecting the appointments of Representative Adam Schiff and Representative Eric Swalwell to serve on the Intelligence Committee.”