The
measure's sponsor, far-right Republican Representative Anna
Paulina Luna, argued that a congressional investigation that
Schiff led into potential ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and
the Russian government was politically motivated and that the
representative had falsely led Americans into believing there
was collusion between the two entities.
In practice, the measure, which was passed 213-209 along party
lines, will result in a probe into Schiff by the Ethics
Committee. Shortly after the vote, Democrats, who fiercely and
unanimously defended their colleague, shouted "Shame!" at House
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who presided over the proceedings.
Schiff has been a frequent Republican target since 2019, when he
headed the investigation that led to Trump's impeachment over
his alleged effort to pressure Ukraine to help him win
re-election. Trump remained in office because the Senate
declined to convict him.
Trump was impeached a second time by the House over his actions
leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Again, the Senate voted against conviction.
The House had defeated a separate censure effort against Schiff
last week, when 20 Republicans joined 205 Democrats in
opposition. The earlier censure effort came with a $16 million
fine, since stripped out. It was unclear how that fine would
have been enforced and even Republicans had doubts about its
constitutionality.
Censures in the House are historically rare.
Republican Representative Paul Gosar was censured in 2021 after
he posted a cartoon video that showed him killing Democratic
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the first time the
censure had been used in a decade.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Moira
Warburton; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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