Which makes Schiff’s current moment of calm amid chaos even more unexpected. Schiff clearly began to weigh what he should do next, looking away from the Chamber to lobby in particular for the vacancy of the attorney general about to open in California. Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, an ally, lent some muscle to Schiff’s campaign – calling Personally Governor Gavin Newsom to recommend Schiff.
But while Schiff is in the mix, he is far from an obstacle to the job. After leading the charge against Trump as the House Democrat’s chief Democrat and then serving as the main prosecutor in the former president’s first trial, Schiff is now on the sidelines. And his flirtation with returning home to California again raises the inevitable question of whether the youngest and most ambitious House Democrats have a concrete ceiling in a caucus long governed by the same leadership.
Schiff declined to be interviewed for this story, but there is hardly a mystery surrounding his move to the job of attorney general. He has always telegraphed that he has higher aspirations than his current position in the House, as a close confidant to the speaker and chairman of a powerful committee. The question that no one in Washington can answer: What is the end of Schiff’s game?
“I think Adam Schiff could basically aspire to any position he wanted and I don’t care what it is,” said Representative Val Demings (Florida), who works with Schiff on the Intel panel and also joined his team of impeachment managers.
“If he became California’s attorney general, it would be good news for California and bad news for the Intelligence Committee,” added Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Another member of the panel.
Even if the post of attorney general does not work, several options remain for Schiff, including securing a seat in the House’s leadership when Pelosi and his top deputies finally leave in the coming years. He is often mentioned as a possible candidate for speaker, but it can be an uphill battle against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.), who is considered the favorite for the job.
There’s also his huge war chest – Schiff raised a staggering $ 41 million in the last election cycle, with a significant portion still left after he disbursed several million to maintain the House, protect vulnerable Democrats and win the White House. These reserves could easily be used for Schiff to campaign for a senator or governor, should the opportunity arise.
Allies of the 60-year-old man, who served in the Chamber for two decades, insist that he is committed to his job of leading the Intelligence panel and say there is still much work to be done – albeit behind the scenes – to repair the tattered relationship between the Congress and the intelligence community that Trump left behind.
“President Schiff is interested in serving his constituents, state and country in whatever way he can help the most,” said spokesman Patrick Boland, noting that his current focus is on helping to pass the latest coronavirus relief bill in Chamber.
After Schiff was appointed as a potential candidate for a national security post during the initial transition from the Biden government, some Democrats speculated that he was too polarizing for such a nod – a hero of the “resistance” on the left, Public Enemy No. 1 to right .
In fact, Schiff was a frequent target of Trump, earning a variety of nicknames from the former president, from “despicable Adam Schiff” to “little pencil neck”. And he faced the Senate’s Republican reaction during last year’s trial, after reading an anonymous quote from a Trump ally saying that the Republicans’ heads would be “in high gear.”“ if they voted for impeachment.
During Trump’s second trial, Republicans were delighted to praise the impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Comparing his performance favorably to that of Schiff.
Senator Mike Rounds (RS.D.) said he made careful notes during Raskin’s presentation, but while Schiff spoke last year, “on more than one occasion … I was simply doing a ‘diatribe’. Because it was just this. “
Asked to compare Schiff to Raskin, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Said that “all these managers seemed to like each other. I remember Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler fighting for the podium.”
Democrats close to Schiff say he only draws this contempt from Republicans because he has repeatedly forced them to speak out in defense of his party leader’s corrupt and potentially illegal behavior. He is often described by colleagues in the caucus as serious and studious about his work, but with a diabolical sense of humor that usually does not appear in public.
“Even in the midst of the impeachment crisis, he was always able to have the right perspective and the right humility that other members of Congress sometimes lack,” said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (DN.Y.), a close colleague. “He doesn’t take himself too seriously. He takes his job seriously.”
Schiff came to Congress in 2001 after, as a state senator, winning a slugfest against Republican James Rogan, himself an impeachment manager during the trial of then President Bill Clinton.
The Schiff-Rogan contest in the suburbs of Los Angeles was known as the most expensive house race in history in the years that followed. He also consolidated his decades-old bond with Pelosi, who recruited him to run for office.
“It was the year he ate his opponent,” recalled Christine Pelosi, a longtime California Democratic Party official and daughter of the mayor, recalling how Schiff, a vegan triathlete, was on a strict diet at the time.
Now Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, is playing the domestic game while lobbying to become his state’s attorney general. Weeks ago, he started calling heads of powerful California interest groups, according to a person informed of the discussions.
Schiff remains a candidate in Sacramento, especially as Newsom faces a possible revocation election.
Michael Trujillo, a Democratic consultant in Los Angeles, said Schiff’s tie with the party would make him “a powerful replacement” for Newsom in any recall or re-election request.
But the left is retreating sharply and quickly, despite Schiff’s anti-Trump good faith, which poses a credible threat to his chances. Kate Chatfield, a senior legal analyst at The Appeal, a progressive advocacy group, called her appointment as a “non-start” with liberal activists.
And in an open letter to Newsom earlier this month, dozens of groups representing people affected by the criminal justice system pointed out several questionable elements of Schiff’s state and federal legislative past.
Newsom, who is largely maintaining his own advice on his decision, said he will wait to announce a new California attorney general until the former House Democrat, Xavier Becerra, is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Services. Humans.
The Senate Finance Committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Becerra.
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.