Schiff censured, McCarthy tables surprise Biden impeachment vote

Unity and division within the Republican Party were both on display Wednesday, June 21, as House Republicans voted to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the same day House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., sidelined a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden. The censure of Rep. Schiff was for comments he made several years ago about investigations into former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.

“The House of Representatives censures Adam Schiff, Representative of the 30th Congressional District of California, for misleading the American public, and for conduct unbecoming of an elected member of the House of Representatives,” Rep. McCarthy said following the 213-209 vote Wednesday. “The Committee on Ethics will conduct an investigation into Representative Adam Schiff’s falsehoods, misrepresentations and abuse of sensitive information.”

With the vote, Schiff becomes the 25th House lawmaker to be censured. During debate, he said he would would wear the censure “vote as a badge of honor.”

“To my Republican colleagues who introduced this resolution, I thank you. You honor me with your enmity. You flatter me with this falsehood,” Schiff said. “You, who are the authors of a big lie about the last election, must condemn the truth tellers, and I stand proudly before you. Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful.”

Schiff has long been a top Republican political target. Soon after taking back the majority after the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans blocked him from sitting on the House Intelligence Committee.

While Republican united on the Schiff censure vote, the President Biden impeachment resolution revealed a divide. The resolution, brought forward in a surprise effort from Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., charges Biden with “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico.

“The numbers are in for May. 170,000 illegals found at the southern borders. Colorado has over 1,800 deaths from fentanyl poisoning. This crisis continues to rage on and on,” Rep. Boebert tweeted Wednesday. “We’ve offered solutions. Democrats refuse to cooperate. The time has come to impeach the president since he refuses to protect this nation.”

A vote on the resolution, which would’ve happened on Thursday, June 22, was not expected to pass. However, Rep. McCarthy negotiated a deal with Boebert to send the resolution or review to the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.

“You don’t just put something on the floor and say, ‘I’m going to impeach somebody.’ This is one of the most serious things you can do as a member of Congress. And I think you’ve got to go through the process,” McCarthy said. “You’ve got to have your investigation. And throwing something on the floor actually harms the investigation that we’re doing right now. And I don’t want to do anything to harm the investigation.”

Boebert said if the committees act slowly, she’ll bring her resolution back to the floor “every day for the rest of my time here in Congress.”