Eric Swalwell Reacts to Being Kicked off Intel Committee: ‘The Only Person Who Supports This Is My Wife’

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) confirmed that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) will lose his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.

McCarthy also said Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA) will lose his seat on the committee as well.

The moves are widely viewed as revenge against Democrats after the former Democratic majority voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of her committee assignments after it was revealed she appeared to endorse violence against liberal politicians.

“Swalwell can’t get a security clearance in the private sector,” the speaker said on Tuesday. “I’m not going to give him a government security clearance.”

Republicans have raised concerns over Swalwell’s past association with a suspected Chinese spy named Christine Fang, a.k.a., Fang Fang, who cozied up to California politicians between 2011 and 2015. One of those was Swalwell, for whom Fang fundraised in 2014.

The FBI stated Swalwell cooperated with its investigation into Fang. There is no evidence the congressman passed along sensitive information or was compromised.

The congressman appeared on Wednesday’s edition of All In on MSNBC, where Chris Hayes noted McCarthy has been fundraising off the fact he is booting Swalwell and others off the House Intelligence Committee.

“Would you feel better or worse if he was raising a lot of money off the solicitations?” Hayes asked, prompting Swalwell to laugh.

“Chris, the only person who supports this is my wife, who’s like, ‘Great, you’re gonna be home to change more diapers. I love it.’ But the truth is, Chris, it’s purely vengeance,” he replied.

Swalwell proceeded to recount the Fang ordeal.

“This happened nearly 10 years ago,” he continued. “The FBI told me that someone who had been helping our campaign in a district with 35% Asian Americans may be working with the Chinese government. I did what I hope every one of my colleagues would do, which was to help the FBI get this person out of the country.”

Swalwell went on to note that then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) knew about Fang and nonetheless kept him on the Intelligence Committee.

Watch above via MSNBC.