Kevin McCarthy plays schoolyard politics by kicking Democrats off key committees | Opinion

Shortly after last November’s midterm election, The Bee Editorial Board predicted that Republican Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield would seek revenge and recriminations against Democrats for actions they took during their control of the House of Representatives the past four years.

Not even a month into his speakership, McCarthy has made good on some of his threats. He just kicked Democrats Adam Schiff of Burbank and Eric Swalwell of Castro Valley off the House Intelligence Committee. Schiff, with his seniority, was the committee chairman until the GOP took over the House earlier this month.

Regarding Schiff, McCarthy explained his actions this way: “Adam Schiff openly lied to the American public. He told you he had proof. He told you he didn’t know the whistleblower.” McCarthy made those remarks to reporters, and was referring to whether Schiff knew the person who exposed former President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election.

With Swalwell, McCarthy said this: “If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldn’t have (Eric) Swalwell on any committee.” That was in reference to an FBI investigation into Swalwell’s ties years ago to a suspected Chinese spy.

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker examined McCarthy’s claims and found them lacking substance and honesty. He earned “Four Pinocchios” from the Fact Checker for not telling the truth.

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Here’s the realities behind McCarthy’s claims, according to the Fact Checker:

▪ Regarding Schiff, the Los Angeles congressman has consistently denied knowing the identity of the whistleblower. Moreover, Schiff took pains during Trump impeachment hearings to keep the whistleblower’s name from being revealed. Further, McCarthy is not offering proof that Schiff knew who the person was. On the other hand, the Fact Checker notes that “right-wing media published the name of an intelligence officer, though that individual has never been officially confirmed as the whistleblower.”

▪ With Swalwell, the Fact Checker said it is true that the Bay Area congressman had a woman named Christine Fang help with campaign fundraising and networking in 2014, but four other representatives had ties to her as well. When the FBI alerted Swalwell about its concerns with Fang, he immediately ended working with her. An FBI official told the San Francisco Chronicle that “Swalwell was completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing.” Further, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, knew about the FBI investigation into Fang, and did not remove Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee.

McCarthy’s revenge moves

What is really behind McCarthy’s removal of the two Democrats is nothing more than a playground tit-for-tat.

Two years ago House Democrats removed Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments due to her extremist beliefs and approval of violence against Democratic politicians. House Democrats in 2021 also removed Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar from all committees after he used official resources to make and post an animated video depicting the killing of New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and violence against President Biden.

Under McCarthy’s lead, Greene and Gosar have received coveted slots on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

In a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that he posted on Twitter Tuesday night explaining why he removed Schiff and Swalwell, McCarthy said “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.”

If integrity is of such high concern to the speaker, then why did he give newly elected GOP Rep. George Santos several committee assignments? Since being elected, it has been discovered that Santos of New York made a series of false statements in his campaign, including misrepresenting parts of his identity and his resume. Members of both parties have called on Santos to resign.

Facts don’t matter to McCarthy — appearances do. Keeping extreme members of his party happy carries more weight than the integrity McCarthy says he wants to have in the House.

McCarthy is not yet one month into his speakership. But it is clear he intends to rule the House with strident partisanship and shameful dishonesty. That is not going to be good for America.