As House Republicans prepare to kick Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell off the Intelligence Committee, CNN Newsroom co-host Erica Hill condemned Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday for not following “tradition.” Apparently, Hill forgot that history did not begin yesterday.
During a segment with TIME national political correspondent Molly Ball, Hill declared, “there's a lot of talk about the Intel Committee, as we know, specifically as it involves Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell. Dems crying foul but the reality is McCarthy has a lot of power and as Speaker that power really trumps whatever the tradition may be.”
Tradition? What about Democrats booting multiple Republicans off their committees and not allow Republicans to choose who would be part of the January 6 Committee?
None of that was mentioned and neither was why Schiff and Swalwell are the targets. Instead, Hill asked Ball, “Is there any way that you see Democrats winning this battle and being able to keep Schiff and Swalwell there?”
Ball didn’t see that happening, “I would be very surprised,” explaining that “this is something that is important to significant elements of the Republican Caucus. This is a promise that McCarthy made to them a long time ago and he has been very clear that he intends to stand by that promise.”
Again, why that is was left out. Ball also condemned McCarthy for not making friends on the Democratic side, something that was never said of Nancy Pelosi when she did the same:
But this is sort of indicative of the larger struggles he's going to have throughout the next couple of years of his speakership, right? He's not making a lot of friends on the other side of the aisle, maybe he doesn't need them. He's going to need friends on, you know, the far-right side of his caucus as well and I think in the first place he's look to go shore up that support after the very chaotic process of gaining the speakership but eventually he's going to need to at least have a working relationship with the Democrats and so this doesn't help that.
When Democrats remove Republicans from committees is portrayed as protecting the sacred nature of the institution. When Republicans respond by removing Democrats it is a political move to pay off the “far-right” with no historical context that breaks with “tradition.” This is CNN.
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Here is a transcript for the January 24 show:
CNN Newsroom
1/24/2023
9:26 PM ET
ERICA HILL: Taking a look at what's happening or not happening at this moment in Washington, Molly, look, there's a lot of talk about the Intel Committee, as we know, specifically as it involves Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell. Dems crying foul but the reality is McCarthy has a lot of power and as Speaker that power really trumps whatever the tradition may be. He can name members unilaterally. Is there any way that you see Democrats winning this battle and being able to keep Schiff and Swalwell there?
MOLLY BALL: I would be very surprised. As you say, it is the Speaker's prerogative and this is something that is important to significant elements of the Republican Caucus. This is a promise that McCarthy made to them a long time ago and he has been very clear that he intends to stand by that promise.
But this is sort of indicative of the larger struggles he's going to have throughout the next couple of years of his speakership, right? He's not making a lot of friends on the other side of the aisle, maybe he doesn't need them.
He's going to need friends on, you know, the far-right side of his caucus as well and I think in the first place he's look to go shore up that support after the very chaotic process of gaining the speakership but eventually he's going to need to at least have a working relationship with the Democrats and so this doesn't help that.
