Donald Trump has many humorous nicknames for his political opponents, the best of which may be “Shifty Schiff” – the well-earned nickname for Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California.
But his public perception isn’t stopping Rep. Schiff from running for higher office, with his sights set on the U.S. Senate.
But when he saw this story in the news, he may have realized he was reading his own political obituary.
U.S. Senator dies in office
After serving as Mayor of San Francisco for a decade, Dianne Feinstein was first elected to the U.S. Senate all the way back in 1992.
After 30 years in the upper chamber, late last week, California’s very senior U.S. Senator died in office at the age of 90.
Feinstein was planning on retiring at the end of her current term – creating a rush of candidates filing to run for her seat in the 2024 election cycle.
One of the Democrats considered by political pundits to be the frontrunner to succeed Feinstein is Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents part of Los Angeles.
However, the leader of the anti-Trump movement may have been much better off had Feinstein not passed before the expiration of her term in office.
California’s Democrat Governor, Gavin Newsom, has his own plans that could put an end to Schiff’s hopes for higher office.
Who will fill Feinstein’s seat?
Gov. Newsom told MSNBC’s Joy Reid back in 2021 that he would consider appointing a black woman to replace Kamala Harris after she became Vice President of the United States.
Instead, he didn’t nominate then-California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to the seat.
Following his selection of Padilla, Newsom faced a wrath of backlash from his constituents on the far Left.
Newsom then commented to the San Francisco Chronicle that should Sen. Feinstein retire before the end of her term, he would indeed appoint a black woman to replace her.
He followed up by telling the Associated Press that he already had “multiple names in mind” if he had the opportunity to handpick yet another U.S. Senator.
Now, all eyes are on Newsom to see if he’ll stick to his promise of turning the senate spot into an affirmative action seat.
I am troubled by the Governor’s remarks. The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election. https://t.co/Q5Q3jznuFd
— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLeeForCA) September 11, 2023
However, Newsom has said he won’t appoint any of the candidates already declared for the 2024 U.S. Senate Democrat Primary in the Golden State.
But one powerful Democrat in the Republic of California – Rep. Adam Schiff – is seething over Newsom’s declaration.
A hitch in Schiff’s plans
Former ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Schiff, has his heart set on Feinstein’s seat.
The man who’s led the witch hunt against former President Donald Trump may lose his frontrunner status now that Feinstein has passed, and her seat will be filled.
Whomever Newsom selects – regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity – that person could pose a serious threat to Schiff’s self-serving power play plans.
While Newsom has said he doesn’t want his selection to interfere with the 2024 senate election and that he would appoint a “caretaker” for the seat, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
There is nothing to stop Newsom’s appointee from forming an addiction to the power that comes with being one of just 100 U.S. Senators and decide she wants to run for a full six-year term.
That politician would then have the power of incumbency and a big-name recognition boost with voters in the state.
According to data from Open Secrets, over the past ten election cycles, incumbent U.S. Senators won re-election 87.8% of the time – including 100% of the races in 2022.
That means Schiff would have a huge uphill battle to increase his pull and power by getting promoted to the upper chamber.
Shifty Schiff’s shady record
Schiff has one of the worst cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome in the entire Democrat caucus.
He was on a vendetta from day one of the Trump Administration to remove the 45th President of the United States from the Oval Office.
During his never-ending witch hunt trying to prove collusion between then-President Trump and Russia – with no evidence backing up the allegations — Rep. Schiff showed he was willing to lie, leak confidential information, and even make up fictional testimony against the President.
When called out about it, Schiff claimed his misinformation spree was a supposed “parody.”
And since 2021, he’s done everything in his power to keep Trump from winning back the White House.
He was one of the Democrat members of the Kangaroo Court January 6th Select Committee.
The committee, which didn’t have a single pro-Trump representative on it, ran a completely one-sided investigation against the former President and refused to call pro-Trump witnesses, ignoring evidence that exonerated Trump and stretching evidence that painted Trump in a bad light.
While the prospects of Schiff’s potential rise to the upper chamber getting more difficult could be a good sign for the American public – they shouldn’t hold their breath.
Given Gov. Newsom’s track record, whomever he appoints to “caretake” the Feinstein seat likely won’t be any better than Schiff.
It is California, after all.
