Schiff says McCarthy will 'misrepresent his record' and oust him from his committee position thanks to the 'QAnon caucus'

US Representative Adam Schiff looks on during the sixth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2022.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

• Rep. Adam Schiff accused House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of following the "QAnon caucus."
• McCarthy, nominated for Speaker, pledged to remove Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee.
•  Schiff told CNN on Sunday that McCarthy has "no set of beliefs."

Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff took aim at Rep. Kevin McCarthy once again after the House Minority Leader vowed to oust him and other Democratic House members from their committee positions should he become Speaker.

McCarthy's bid to become Speaker of the House could be compromised by Freedom Caucus House members closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, like Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has previously pledged support for another candidate. However, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she would vote for McCarthy after he promised to reinstate her committee assignments.

Schiff, who currently heads the House Intelligence Committee, told "State of the Union" host Dana Bash on Sunday that McCarthy was "willing to do anything " to get the 218 votes needed in the House to become Speaker.

"McCarthy's problem is, he can't get to 218 without Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz," Schiff said. "And so he will do whatever they ask. And right now they're asking for me to be removed from our committees. And he's willing to do it. He's willing to do anything they ask. And that's the problem." 

Schiff also said McCarthy of having no "set of beliefs," and warned that he would "misrepresent his record" and the records of other House members whose House seats he wants to remove, in order to maintain the number of votes needed.

McCarthy has also pledged to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Eric Swalwell from their committees and investigate DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on his approach to border security.

"It's very hard not only to get to 218 that way. It's even more difficult to keep 218. That's his problem," Schiff said. "So he will misrepresent my record. He will misrepresent Eric Swalwell or Ilhan Omar, whatever he needs to do to get the votes of the QAnon caucus within his conference."

Other McCarthy critics, including outgoing Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and his previous Democratic challenger, have stated a belief that McCarthy was willing to do anything to gain and maintain power among Republicans. 

A representative for McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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