Dems fire back at Kevin McCarthy over his threat to boot them from key committees

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to boot Democrats Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar from key committees if he becomes speaker.

Schiff, who is the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, accused McCarthy of pandering to his party's right wing.

“I suspect he will do whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene wants him to do,” Schiff said on ABC's This Week. “He is a very weak leader of his conference, meaning that he will adhere to the wishes of the lowest common denominator. And if that lowest common denominator wants to remove people from committees, that’s what they’ll do.”

Omar said that McCarthy is targeting her because he is Islamophobic.

"From the moment I was elected, the Republican Party has made it their mission to use fear, xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism to target me on the House floor and through millions of dollars of campaign ads," Omar said, according to Fox News. "McCarthy’s effort to repeatedly single me out for scorn and hatred—including threatening to strip me from my committee—does nothing to address the issues our constituents deal with. It does nothing to address inflation, health care, or solve the climate crisis."

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She added that the "constant stream of hate" from conservatives has led "led to hundreds of death threats and credible plots against me and my family."

Omar went on to say, "Instead of doing anything to address the open hostility toward religious minorities in his party, McCarthy is now lifting up people like Marjorie Taylor Greene… and so many others."

McCarthy said Swalwell's alleged affair with a Chinese spy, Schiff’s promotion of Russia collusion claims, and Omar’s comments about Israel were disqualifying.

But Fox News reported that Swalwell was "unfazed" by the threat. "Please circle back if Kevin McCarthy becomes speaker," his office said in a statement.