Key takeaways:
- House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has nominated California Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to serve on the House Intelligence Committee.
- Jeffries cited Schiff and Swalwell’s “decades of distinguished leadership providing oversight” of the intelligence community and their careers as prosecutors before serving in Congress.
- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has the power to accept or reject the nominations, setting up a potential showdown between Jeffries and McCarthy.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has nominated California Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to serve on the House Intelligence Committee, setting up a potential showdown with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy has vowed to block the pair from keeping their seats on the powerful panel, a move that Jeffries says would break with the longstanding House tradition of deference to the minority party’s Intelligence Committee recommendations.
In a letter to McCarthy on Saturday, Jeffries cited Schiff and Swalwell’s “decades of distinguished leadership providing oversight” of the intelligence community and their careers as prosecutors before serving in Congress.
The move signals a rocky start to the relationship between Jeffries, a New Yorker and new minority leader, and McCarthy, a Californian and new GOP speaker.
Jeffries, as minority leader, can nominate Democrats to serve on the panel, but McCarthy has the power to accept or reject the nominations. It is unclear at this time how McCarthy will respond to Jeffries’ nominations.
The House Intelligence Committee is one of the most powerful panels in Congress, responsible for overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies and conducting investigations into matters of national security. It is unclear how the potential conflict between Jeffries and McCarthy will affect the committee’s work.
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