Former Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has brought a different approach to dealing with Republicans and Donald Trump since he was elected to a Senate seat in 2024 representing the state despite being warned things run differently there.
According to a report from Politico's Hailey Fuchs, the California Democrat has brought a more confrontational style to the Senate floor, reflecting his over twenty years in the rough-and-tumble House, that has shaken up the Democratic leadership.
The report notes that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) notably advised new Senators to "dump the House" upon their arrival but, Schiff, having abandoned a senior leadership in the other chamber, is playing by a different set of rules.
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The freshman senator admitted, "I did arrive very intent on being seen and not heard, and I think frankly, if it had been a Harris presidency, I would have continued to be seen and not heard. But given that every day is a new crisis, none of us can afford to be seen and not heard.”
Case in point, the report notes was his grilling of now-FBI Director Kash Patel during his Senate confirmation hearing where he pressed whether Patel "... was 'proud' of his alleged involvement in fundraising off a musical recording from a group of rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He asked Patel to turn and face the Capitol Police officers in the hearing room whose force defended the building against the violent siege."
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applauded the new "enthusiasm" Schiff has brought to the Senate, saying Democrats "should have been tougher" on Trump's appointees.
As for Schiff, he "said he and his fellow freshmen won’t be 'wallflowers,' and called old traditions about new senators waiting months for their first major speech on the chamber floor 'completely outdated.'"
Retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) gave a nod of approval to the California senator's change of pace, admitting, "He’s in a unique position bridging the experience you had in the House of Representatives with this administration and now your responsibility here in the United States Senate.”
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