The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 26, 2023

Kevin McCarthy Denies Committee Assignments to Democratic Reps. Schiff, Swalwell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In news from Washington, House Speaker Kevin Mc Carthy on Wednesday
ousted Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House
Intelligence Committee, carrying through on promised retaliation for the
expulsion of far-right Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar
from their congressional committees in 2021 after they called for
violence against Democrats on social media. Gosar's removal came after
he posted an animated video where he murders Congressmember Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez and attacks President Biden. Gosar and Greene have both
received committee assignments in the new Congress. Mc Carthy is also
expected to hold a vote on removing Minnesota Congressmember Ilhan Omar
from the Foreign Affairs Committee, since he cannot unilaterally remove
members from that panel. It's not clear if Mc Carthy has enough support
in his party to do so; two Republican lawmakers have already opposed the
move, and Mc Carthy can only afford four defections. The three targeted
Democrats condemned Mc Carthy's "corrupt bargain" with the extreme right
of his party. This is Congressmember Ilhan Omar.

Rep. Ilhan Omar: "It is about revenge. It's about appeasing the former
president. All three of us have been a thorn in the back of the previous
disgraced president."



.