Global Courant
The House passed a censure resolution against Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., — a move that sparked rhetoric on both sides of the aisle.
The vote was 213-209, with six votes present. Members could be heard singing as Schiff made his way to the pit, where he stood as Chairman Kevin McCarthy read aloud the passed resolution.
Schiff’s rebuke for what the solution says his “misleading the American public and for conduct that is inappropriate for an elected member of the House of Representatives” was an extraordinarily rare step for the House to take against any of its members, sparked impassioned speeches from both Democrats as Republicans.
House members censored in the 21st century.
Photo credit: Getty Images/AP
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who introduced the resolution, described the measure as a “clear voice between right and wrong.”
“This is not a partisan act. This is not a conservative-versus-liberal vote. This is a clear choice between right and wrong, and I urge you to do the right thing,” she said.
Luna said that “running away from this opportunity to hold this man accountable” would “betray the people who trusted us and sent us here (to Congress) to do the right thing.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna speaks on the house floor during a debate over Rep. Adam Schiff, June 21, 2023.
US House of Representatives
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who advanced a resolution earlier this week that would impeach President Joe Biden, said Schiff was a “crook” who represents “the worst of permanent Washington, using his position of confidence to lie to the American people.”
“If Adam Schiff has any shred of human decency left, he would resign from Congress in disgrace. His tombstone should be … one word: ‘Liar,'” she said.
But Schiff responded that what he called the “false and defamatory resolution” amounted to “little political payback” in an attempt to “censor or fine Trump’s opposition into submission.”
“But I won’t budge, not an inch,” Schiff promised.
The California Democrat turned the tables on Republicans, arguing that they were the ones who deserved to be censored.
“My colleagues, if there is cause for disapproval in this House – and there is – it should be directed at those in this body who tried to overturn free and fair elections,” he said.
“The question, my Republican colleagues, is not why am I the subject of this bogus resolution for doing my constitutional duty, but why not? Why don’t you stand with me, the subject of a similar rebuke for speaking the truth Why didn’t you rise up against Donald Trump?…Will it be said of you that you didn’t have the courage to rise up against the most immoral, illegitimate and unethical president in history, but consoled yourself by those on who did?” he continued.
Rep. Adam Schiff speaks on the house floor during a debate about his disapproval, June 21, 2023.
US House of Representatives
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced what he called a “false, false and fraudulent” censure resolution, arguing that the rebuke stemmed from the Republicans’ lack of policy vision.
“This is a Republican-controlled congress that does nothing,” he said. “That is why this disapproval resolution is on the ground today.”
Jeffries, insisting that Schiff had done nothing wrong, suggested that former President Donald Trump, whom he called the “extreme puppeteer,” led the censure vote.
“When he says, ‘Bend the knee,’ extreme MAGA Republicans say, ‘How high?'” he said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries speaks on the house floor during a debate over Rep. Adam Schiff, June 21, 2023.
US House of Representatives
Former chairman Nancy Pelosi echoed Jeffries’ rhetoric, calling the proceedings a “puppet show.”
“The other side has turned this room … into a puppet show. And you know what? The puppeteer, Donald Trump, shines a light on the strings. You look miserable. You look miserable,” she said, recalling addressing the Republicans.
The fiery Wednesday afternoon debate follows a similar censure motion that failed last week when 20 Republicans voted alongside Democrats to introduce the resolution. But most of the defecting Republicans supported Luna’s resubmitted resolution on Wednesday after she stripped it of a provision that would have fined Schiff $16 million, a fact Schiff noted in his speech.
“No matter how you try to get me out of Congress or silence me with a $16 million fine, you won’t succeed. You might as well make it $160 million,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “You will never stop me from doing my duty.”
Censorship “records the House’s deep disapproval of members’ misconduct, which nonetheless falls short of the threshold for expulsion,” the House of Representatives said. website.
The general debate on the resolution concluded at about 3:20 p.m. and a recorded vote was requested, which was postponed.
The House has censured only two members in the 21st century: former Rep. Charles Rangel, D.N.Y., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.
ABC News’ Carly Roman contributed to this report.
