As Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy blocked Adam Schiff from sitting on the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced legislation Thursday that would call on the House to vote on if Schiff should be banned from accessing and viewing any and all classified information.
The Daily Caller first obtained the legislation, which is titled the PENCIL Act after former President Donald Trump’s nickname of Schiff, “Pencil-Neck.” PENCIL stands for “Preventing Extreme Negligence with Classified Information Licenses” Resolution.
“Congressman Adam Schiff led the effort for years to weaponize lies from the Clinton campaign and a corrupt Department of Justice to smear President Trump while destroying any trust the country had left in America’s intelligence agencies” Gaetz told the Caller before introducing the legislation.
“Speaker McCarthy kept his promise to remove Rep. Schiff from the Intelligence Committee, and with the PENCIL Resolution, we will express the sense of Congress that he should be barred from accessing any classified information at all. He can no longer be trusted by his colleagues in Congress or the American people,” Gaetz added.
Schiff announced Thursday that he will be running for U.S. Senate., the same day Gaetz introduced the bill.
Gaetz first introduced the PENCIL Act in 2019, when Republicans did not have control of the House.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy recently confirmed that Schiff and Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell will be removed from the House Intelligence Committee and the House will vote on the removal of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Schiff took to the Chinese-owned TikTok app shortly after McCarthy removed him from the House Intelligence Committee, saying McCarthy removed him “for doing my job, for holding Trump accountable and standing up to the extreme MAGA Republicans.” He then asked for donations.