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In an unparalleled move, the Republican-led initiative to censure California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff over his claims about former President Donald Trump’s links to Russia was successful on Wednesday. Following the 213-209 party-line vote in the lower chamber to censure Schiff, six lawmakers voted present, Democrats immediately began chanting ‘shame.’
The new effort to censure Schiff came from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., after her prior attempt was blocked by House Democrats under the Prior Question Motion last week, together with 20 Republicans who moved to table the resolution, effectively killing it. The chamber voted 225-196 to table the bill at the time.
Following the failed effort, Rep. Luna tweeted indicating she would take out the pro-Presidential punishment section in her bill after it suggested fining Schiff $16 million if the House Ethics Committee investigation decides he ‘lied, made misrepresentations, and abused sensitive information.’
This provision caused some House Republicans to join Democrats in killing the legislation. ‘The Constitution says the House may make its own rules, but we can’t violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution,’ tweeted Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, before the first vote. A $16 million penalty is a breach of the 27th and 8th amendments, he stated.
Rep. Luna suggested that she had the votes to censure Schiff in a tweet on Tuesday, stating that a majority of the 20 Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill last week would back the revised resolution, as would lawmakers who were out of town for last week’s vote. Schiff announced last week that he was ‘flattered’ by the move to censure him and indicated the decision had been introduced as a distraction from Trump’s legal woes.
The former president is under investigation for allegedly mishandling classified documents and was arraigned in Miami at the start of this month, the same day Luna had introduced the bill to the floor. Schiff called the resolution a ‘terrible abuse of House resources’ and claimed that it was primarily an attempt to draw attention away from the legal scrutiny of Donald Trump.
Following in the wake of other recent occurrences, other House lawmakers have been censured. In February 2022, the Republican National Committee censured former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only Republicans on the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack, for opposing Trump and working on the inquiry. Representative Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., was censured by the House last year in November 2021, with a 223-207 party-line vote, for posting an anime video in which he was edited to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, and attacking President Joe Biden.
Last week, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., launched a renewed effort to censure California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff for his allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia during the then-presidential nominee’s 2016 campaign, alleging that the move was obstructed by the house’s Democrat majority. On Wednesday, the House passed the procedural hurdle before voting 213-209 along party lines to censure Schiff. Following the vote, Democrats in the lower chamber started chanting ‘shame.’
In her original bill, Luna had a provision that would have levied a $16 million fine against Rep. Adam Schiff, should the House Ethics Committee find him guilty of ‘lying, making misrepresentations, and abusing sensitive information.’ The provision caused some Republican lawmakers to side with Democrats in blocking the bill.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., tweeted out a warning last week before the vote: ‘The Constitution says the House may make its own rules, but we can’t violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution. A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th amendments.’ After lawmakers successfully hindered Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s initial effort to censure Rep.
Schiff for his involvement with the former President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, the Florida Republican introduced a similar resolution this week. It is rare for members of Congress to be censured, which is a public reprimand vote that begins with a resolution but doesn’t result in impeachment like misconduct.
The Republican-led effort to censure Rep. Adam Schiff was successful on Wednesday, with the 213-209 party-line vote. Following the vote, Democrats in the chamber chanted ‘shame,’ and six lawmakers voted present. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who renewed the censure effort, tweeted afterwards that she would withdraw the $16 million fine provision.
Luna’s renewed resolution gained backing from most of the 20 Republican lawmakers who voted against the effort to censure Schiff last week. Schiff mentioned that he was ‘flattered’ by the attempts to censure him last week and said that the effort was introduced to distract from the legal issues surrounding President Trump.
As part of the effort to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, the House passed a procedural hurdle before voting 213-209 along party lines on Wednesday. Six lawmakers voted present, and after the vote, Democrats in the chamber began chanting ‘shame.’
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna renewed her efforts to censure Schiff under the pretense that the resolution introduced to the chamber last week was obstructed by the Democrat majority. Luna stated in a tweet on Tuesday that the revised resolution she was introducing would have the backing of most Republican lawmakers who voted against it last week.
In a rare move, the effort to censure Rep. Adam Schiff was successful, with the 213-209 party-line vote on Wednesday. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, while Democrats in the house began chanting ‘shame’ in response. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the representative who initiated the renewed effort, tweeted that she would retract the $16 million fine portion of the bill, as it caused some House Republicans to side with Democrats in tabling the resolution. Schiff alleged that the renewed resolution was an attempt to detract attention from former President Trump’s legal issues last week and referred to the move as ‘a terrible abuse of House resources.’
Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, and the motion to censure Rep. Adam Schiff passed with a 213-209 party-line vote on Wednesday. Following the vote, Democrats in the chamber began chanting ‘shame.’ Rep. Luna renewed her efforts to censure Schiff, stressing that the previous resolution introduced to the House last week was obstructed by the chamber’s Democrat majority. Luna shared on Tuesday that most Republican lawmakers who were against the previous bill would back her revised version. The renewed bill would no longer have the provision that levied a $16 million fine against Schiff if he was found guilty by the House Ethics Committee on the charges of ‘lying, making misrepresentations, and abusing sensitive information.’
The Republican-led effort to censure Rep. Adam Schiff succeeded with a party-line vote of 213-209 last Wednesday. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, and following its outcome, Democrats in the chamber began chanting ‘shame.’
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna renewed her calls to censure Schiff, arguing that the previous resolution failed because of opposition from the majority party. Sharing on Twitter on Tuesday, Luna expressed confidence that her updated resolution would have the requisite support from most Republican lawmakers.
In a party-line vote of 213-209 last Wednesday, Republicans succeeded in their efforts to censure Rep. Adam Schiff. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, and in response to its outcome, Democrats began chanting ‘shame’ in the chamber. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna renewed her calls to censure Schiff after her previous attempt was blocked by the majority party. Luna shared on Tuesday that a revised version of her resolution would receive the majority of votes from the Republicans who did not back the original resolution.
Last Wednesday, the initiative to censure Rep. Adam Schiff was successful, following a party-line vote of 213-209. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, and in response, Democrats began chanting ‘shame’ in the chamber. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna reintroduced the bill after her previous attempt was thwarted by Democratic opposition. She expressed confidence on Twitter on Tuesday that her new bill would have the support of most Republican lawmakers.
The campaign to censure Rep. Adam Schiff reached a climax last Wednesday when the Republican-led initiative succeeded in a 213-209 party-line vote. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, with Democrats in the chamber beginning to chant ‘shame’ in response. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna renewed her calls to censure Schiff after her previous attempt was blocked by Democratic opposition. Luna tweeted on Tuesday that most Republican lawmakers would support the renewed initiative.
The Republican-led campaign to censure Rep. Adam Schiff came to a head last Wednesday when it succeeded in a party-line vote of 213-209. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote, with Democratic representatives vigorously chanting ‘shame’ in response. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna renewed her efforts to censure Schiff after her previous attempt was blocked by opposition from House Democrats. Luna stated on Twitter on Tuesday that most Republican lawmakers would support the revised initiative.
