Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is fundraising off a late Wednesday vote by House Republicans to censure him over his comments criticizing alleged ties between former President Trump and Russia.
Schiff’s campaign for Senate in California said in an email sent out after the vote that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took up the resolution against him for his efforts trying to hold Trump accountable.
“This is not just a political stunt to rile up the MAGA base — it’s an attack on all accountability and constitutional oversight,” Schiff said in the email. “But make no mistake: If they thought this was going to deter me from holding Trump and his accomplices accountable or delivering real results for California and our nation, they thought wrong.”
Schiff is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) He is also facing California Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee in what could be a hotly contested Democratic primary. He has become a controversial figure among the GOP over his accusations of Trump colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign and his role in leading the first impeachment inquiry against Trump in 2020.
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper late Wednesday, Schiff said he plans to wear the censure as a “badge of honor.” He noted the resolution to censure him previously failed last week with 20 Republicans voting in favor of tabling it, but Trump warned after that vote that any Republican voting against the resolution should face a primary challenge.
“So basically, this is Trump and MAGA world going after someone they think is effective in standing up to them,” Schiff said on CNN.
He also said he does not have any regrets about how he handled the allegations surrounding Trump and Russia and said the investigation into Trump’s misconduct was “very important.”
The investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election concluded that Russia took steps to interfere with the election and help elect Trump, but investigators did not find evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign. Multiple Trump associates pleaded guilty or were found guilty of charges stemming from the probe.
Schiff said in his fundraising email that he will continue his work to hold “MAGA Republicans” accountable and called on his supporters to help “push back against these attacks on our democracy.”
Trump similarly tried to raise money earlier this month off the backlash to his federal indictment for the classified and sensitive documents kept at his Mar-a-Lago property last year, bringing in more than $6.5 million in the days after the charges were unsealed.