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DEMOCRATS STANDING IN QUICKSAND:

Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.)

In 2018, Waters urged people to confront Trump administration officials in public spaces and “tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere” over policies that resulted in separating migrant families. And the year before that, Waters told a crowd that she would “go and take out Trump tonight.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.)

Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress and a prominent member of the progressive “squad,” has faced bipartisan pushback for her criticisms of Israel. And while Democrats have taken some action in the past over some of Omar’s comments that were considered controversial, Republicans have long called for going further and removing her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.)

McCarthy and other Republicans have been calling for Swalwell’s removal from the House Intelligence Committee since Axios reported in late 2020 that a suspected Chinese intelligence operative named Christine Fang cultivated ties with him. Republicans forced a procedural vote on a resolution in March to remove Swalwell from the Intelligence panel, but it was rejected along party lines. That vote came weeks after Swalwell served as one of the House prosecutors in Trump’s impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Fang reportedly took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign — although records indicate she didn’t make donations herself — and helped place an intern in his office.

Federal authorities alerted Swalwell to concerns about Fang around 2015, leading the California Democrat to cut ties with her. Swalwell has not been accused of any wrongdoing and said he provided information about Fang to the FBI.