Democrats Omar, Swalwell and Schiff respond to McCarthy's pledge to take their committee assignments
Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell are individually criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for his continued vow to remove each of them from committees in the next Congress if elected chamber speaker.
Omar, of Minnesota, on Monday, accused the GOP leader of having "openly tolerated antisemitism," after McCarthy said Sunday that he would not allow her on the House Foreign Affairs committee due to what he called "her antisemitic comments."
Omar has repeatedly criticized Israel and formally apologized in for antisemitic comments.
In her statement Monday, Omar said McCarthy accused Jewish Democrats of trying to "buy elections," referring to how he tweeted in ahead of the 2018 midterms about Democratic mega-donors George Soros, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.
She said McCarthy's pledges stoke "fear and hate against Somali-Americans and anyone who shares my identity, and further divide us along racial and ethnic lines."
Swalwell, of California, suggested the threat to remove him, and perhaps the others, is because McCarthy has become beholden to the Trump-wing of his conference to get the votes needed to become speaker.
"Kevin can do whatever he wants to pander to the ... MAGA extremists but I promise you, no matter what committees I’m on (or not on) I [will] not stop fighting to expose the GOP’s lies," he tweeted.
McCarthy targeted Swalwell's position on the House Intelligence Committee due to his previous relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
When asked for comment by Fox News, a Swalwell spokesperson said: "Please circle back if Kevin McCarthy becomes speaker."
Schiff, whom McCarthy said should be disqualified from serving on the Intelligence committee due to his advocacy for the now-discredited Steele dossier, which Democrats ordered to discredit then-2016 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Schiff, of California, on Sunday also suggested that McCarthy has capitulated to the conference's far-right, Pro-Trump members.
"I suspect he will do whatever [Georgia GOP Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene wants him to do," he told ABC. "He's a very weak leader of this 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."