Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California at a press conference on Capitol Hill in January 2023.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Rep. Adam Schiff was censured by the House on Wednesday in a party-line vote.
But with Schiff running for Senate as a #Resistance hero, the censure is only likely to help him.
His Senate campaign fundraised heavily on it, and he thanked his GOP colleagues in a floor speech.
House Republicans passed a resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff on a party-line vote on Wednesday, adding the California Democrat’s name to a relatively small list of lawmakers who have been formally condemned by the House of Representatives.
The most recent lawmaker to make that list before Schiff was Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, who was censured in a bipartisan vote in November 2021 for posting an anime video depicting him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
But in this political climate, becoming the 25th House member in American history to face censure may simply boost Schiff in his quest to become California’s next senator — if his fundraising emails are any indication.
As of Wednesday evening, Schiff’s Senate campaign had sent nearly 20 fundraising emails mentioning the GOP censure effort since Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced the original version of her resolution on May 24.
“Rush an urgent donation to help our campaign respond right now to this concerted effort by MAGA Republicans to silence those who defend our democracy and hold the corrupt to account,” reads an email sent early on Wednesday morning. “We have to fight this effort with everything we’ve got.”
“Republicans view me as Trump’s most effective adversary, and resent the work I did to impeach him and as part of the January 6th Committee,” reads another sent after the first censure effort failed last week. “They can bring up a hundred resolutions to censure me — I’m not backing down.”
A spokeswoman for Schiff’s Senate campaign declined to share fundraising figures for the past month — though they will be made public via Federal Election Commission filings in July.
In a floor speech earlier on Wednesday, Schiff thanked his Republican colleagues for bringing the censure resolution, saying he stood “proudly” before them.
—CSPAN (@cspan) June 21, 2023
The censure resolution alleges that Schiff “misled the American people and brought disrepute upon the House of Representatives” for his handling of the Trump-Russia investigation. It also directs the House Ethics Committee to investigate Schiff.
Wednesday’s vote was essentially a do-over effort: Luna’s first resolution, which included a $16 million fine for Schiff, was tabled in a bipartisan House vote last week.
But while “Russiagate” remains a prominent grievance on the right, Democrats are less likely to view the censure of Schiff as legitimate — the notion that former President Donald Trump and Russia were in cahoots was a prominent motif of the #Resistance movement during Trump’s presidency.
—Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) June 13, 2023
And as a member of the January 6th committee, an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment, and the one-time chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff has long positioned himself as a prominent foil to the former president — and it’s an identity he’s leaned into as a Senate candidate.
Republicans, naturally, are loath to acknowledge the political upside for Schiff — even those from his home state of California.
“You can’t help what people do with fundraising and all of that,” said Rep. Doug LaMalfa. “If that makes him a hero to some people, whatever.”
“I’m not looking at this as politically as you’re suggesting,” said Rep. John Duarte, arguing Schiff “abused” his position during the Trump presidency.
“That’s for someone else to worry about,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley. “I’m focused on the text of the resolution, and whether it’s warranted or not.”
By contrast, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia excoriated Schiff — and the entire state of California — in a floor speech on Wednesday as she accused the California congressman of trying to “raise money off of being a liar.”
—CSPAN (@cspan) June 21, 2023
According to recent polling, Schiff is narrowly leading his main Democratic rival, Rep. Katie Porter, while fellow Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee is trailing both. Schiff has also led Porter in recent fundraising, though the congresswoman has amassed a large war chest from her House campaign account.