McCarthy wanted to put fellow Republicans Jim Jordan and Jim Banks of the January 6 Committee when it was being formed. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – apparently afraid the anti-Trump committee would be forced to reckon with some uncomfortable questions – broke with tradition and herself appointed two "Republicans In Name Only" (RINOs) guaranteed to toe the Democratic Party line when it came to the Capitol riots.
Now the presumed incoming speaker, McCarthy told Fox News if that's the way Democrats want to play the game, fine:
McCarthy: "Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector. Why would we ever give him a security clearance and the secrets to America? You have Adam Schiff, who had lied to the American public time and again. We will not allow him to be on the Intel Committee either. And look, Congresswoman [Ilhan] Omar, her antisemitic comments that have gone forward. We're not going to allow her to be on Foreign Affairs."
Gary Bauer of American Values says it's about time Republicans in Congress started giving as good as they're getting. "I am very happy to see that McCarthy is going to kick three radical Democrat House members off very sensitive committees," he tells AFN.
As Townhall columnist Katie Pavlich points out, Democratic leaders failed to thoroughly condemn Omar for her comments, Schiff abused his position as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Swalwell is a national security risk for having an affair with a female Chinese Communist Party spy.
McCarthy's plans were also applauded by GOP Congressman Pat Fallon (Texas). In a recent interview with Newsmax, he credited Pelosi for planting the idea in McCarthy's mind.
"[Both parties' leadership in the House] used to police their own back in the day," Fallon stated. "That was the tradition, and that had been the precedent that was set in Congress for years."
But Pelosi, Fallon continued, set a "new precedent [by] reaching over the aisle" when she dropped two former GOP lawmakers (Steve King and Paul Gosar) from their committee assignments after some public controversies.
Bauer argues that for decades the Democratic Party has brought a bazooka to the fight while the GOP hangs in with a pen-knife.
"It's imperative conservatives not play by an 'ideal' set of rules and only allow the opposition to play hardball," says the conservative activist. "If only one side follows a set of rules about niceties while the other side is bashing them over the head with a baseball bat, after a while that just becomes foolish."
McCarthy's appointment as House Speaker come January isn't a sure thing. While he has secured the nomination from his own party members, he will need 218 votes from the entire chamber. Republicans are projected to hold anywhere from 220 to 224 seats – and at least three GOP House members have said they don't plan to vote for McCarthy.
