Free Republic

House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) formally asked Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this weekend to seat Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Jeffries requested in a letter shared by Punchbowl News that McCarthy “honor past practice” and accept Jeffries’ recommendations of Schiff and Swalwell to the committee. “It is my understanding that you intend to break with the longstanding House tradition of deference to the minority party Intelligence Committee recommendations and deny seats to Ranking Member Schiff and Representative Swalwell,” Jeffries wrote. “The denial of seats to duly elected Members...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that the “disarray” during the process of choosing a Speaker is a harbinger for how Republicans will run the House. Schiff said, “The business of the country needs to move forward. I am desperately concerned with all of the concessions that McCarthy has made to these hard-liners, all with the object of giving him the title of speaker without the powers to conduct that office, and I’m afraid it’s a harbinger of what we’re going to see, going from crisis to crisis. We may risk a default on our national debt....