In a significant development, the House of Representatives voted against a resolution put forth by Republicans to censure Democratic Representative Adam Schiff for his involvement in congressional investigations concerning former President Donald Trump. The rejection effectively ended the attempt to publicly rebuke Schiff.

House Democrats successfully moved to table the resolution, which was introduced by Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, a staunch supporter of Trump.

The motion passed with a vote of 225 to 196, with 20 Republicans siding with the Democrats. It required a simple majority to be approved, CBS News reported.

The resolution urged the House Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into Schiff, who previously chaired the House Intelligence Committee and is currently running for Senate in California.

It further proposed a $16 million fine should the committee conclude that Schiff had “lied, made misrepresentations, and abused sensitive information.”

Luna justified the amount by equating it to half the cost of special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into potential connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.

Schiff has long been a prominent critic of Trump, playing a leading role as the House’s prosecutor during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

In a letter addressed to colleagues, Schiff denounced the attempt to censure him, characterizing it as not only a misuse of House resources and precedent but also a direct assault on the constitutional system of checks and balances.

Written by staff