Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Tuesday immediately started asking voters to contribute to his Senate campaign after House Republicans moved to censure him for numerous remarks he made about collusion between Russia and former President Trump.
"Rep. Anna Paulina Luna just walked off the House floor – after she read the resolution to censure and fine me $16 million," Schiff wrote on Twitter shortly after the censure motion was introduced. "The vote will be in the next 48 hours to distract from Trump’s indictment and retaliate against me for impeaching him. But I’m not backing down."
In a follow-up post he added, "This isn't going to stop me from standing up for our democracy. Chip in if you're with me."
Luna, R-Fla., introduced the resolution to censure and possibly fine Schiff over his efforts to promote accusations that the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to win the White House – allegations that were never proven. Schiff was chair of the House Intelligence Committee at the time.
Schiff called the censure measure an "attack on democracy" in a video posted Tuesday afternoon.
"The authors of the Big Lie would attack me for telling the truth," Schiff said. "But the real goal is to intimidate, to silence critics of the president. It takes issue with me for investigating Donald Trump, for impeaching him, for getting the first bipartisan vote to convict a president in U.S. history."
"This is an attack on our democracy, even as it’s an attack on me and the institution of Congress. But I will never back down," he pledged.
Though Republicans stripped him of his role on the committee when they took the House majority earlier this year, Schiff has set his sights on filling retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat.
At 89 years old, Feinstein, D-Calif., announced she would not be seeking re-election in 2024. It’s created a power vacuum for Democrats vying for the safe blue seat in next year’s March 5 primary.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN ANNOUNCES SHE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2024
Schiff is now in a high-profile primary race with fellow California House Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. All three share similar progressive ideologies, though Schiff started out miles ahead in terms of fundraising and name recognition.
A recent survey by Emerson College Polling and Inside California Politics shows Schiff and Porter in near-tie with less than half a percentage point in between, but a whopping 47.5% of voters said they were still undecided.
