Pascrell Condemns Republican Removal of Democratic Committee Members

One North Jersey Congressman expressed his outrage on the denial of Democrats on  House Committee by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.

Rep. Bill Pascrell condemned the decision of McCarthy for blocking Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from service on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

“Kevin McCarthy barricading Congressmen Schiff and Swalwell from continuing service on the Intelligence Committee is a travesty and a disgrace,” Rep. Pascrell. 

Character Assassination

“Under the pretext of fabrications and straight-out character assassinations, Mr. McCarthy has set a terrible precedent and endangers our national security in the process. In truth, Reps. Schiff and Swalwell are being blocked because of their effectiveness in exposing the toxic corruption of the Trump regime.”

Additionally, he hit back at McCarthy’s push to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

“Similarly, the attempted removal of Rep. Omar from the Foreign Affairs panel is without any fair basis and is grounded solely in political retribution. Mr. McCarthy should halt all efforts to remove other qualified Democrats from committees and do his damn job,” he said.

A New Standard

McCarthy argued that a “new standard” had been set for Democrats following the 2021 decision by a Democrat-led house to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) and  Paul Gosar (R-AZ) of their committees for inflammatory rhetoric. 

The Speaker in a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered that the intel committee under Schiff “severely undermined its primary national security and oversight missions — ultimately leaving our nation less safe” in what Schiff believes was payback for the two impeachment convictions against Donald Trump. As for Swalwell,  McCarthy cite the congressman being targeted by a Chinese spy in 2014. Blocking Omar from sitting on the Foreign Affairs Committee was related to her comments on Israel that drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

“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,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that he posted on Twitter Tuesday night, according to CNN report.

Partisan Games

Swalwell pushed back on the allegation, saying it was “political vengeance.” He argued the committee had always been bipartisan, and said the “smashing” of it would lead to irreparable damage.

Pascrell argued that the House Speaker was not fulfilling his duty, and had lost the respect of even his own party.

“Mr. McCarthy is participating in nothing but bread and circuses—those aren’t my words, but the exact description of one of McCarthy’s own Republican members,” he said.

“By engaging exclusively in partisan games, Mr. McCarthy is demonstrating he is nothing but a speaker in-name-only, subservient to the extremists in the Republican caucus to remain in power at any cost. This move today augers poorly for McCarthy’s courage to stop extremists from collapsing America’s economy. Republicans can’t and won’t govern America.”