Opinion: McCarthy’s committee vengeance could pose a grave risk

Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis, (@fridaghitis) a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

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With the war in Ukraine growing more tense by the day, and the United States playing a pivotal role in preventing Russia from succeeding in its efforts to win an unprovoked war, one might be excused for thinking the new leadership in the US House of Representatives would restrain its impulses to politicize some of the most sensitive areas of foreign policy. But no such thing is happening.

Anyone concerned that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would find it difficult to steer a moderate course after having to compromise with the most extreme members of the Republican Party to win the seat, had their fears confirmed this week when McCarthy announced he was barring key Democrats from the crucial House Select Committee on Intelligence.

On Tuesday, the speaker announced that he was rejecting the appointment of the former chair, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, as well as Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California to the committee. It is no coincidence that the two played major roles in the two impeachments of former President Donald Trump, without whose support McCarthy would likely not hold the speaker’s gavel.

McCarthy tried to paint the decision as one of high-minded, security-conscious patriotism. But it was precisely the opposite of that. The just-elected speaker couldn’t run away from his own recorded vows of vengeance.

A year ago, he pledged that if Republicans became the majority, they would strip Schiff, Swalwell and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from their committees, as payback for what Democrats had done.

“Never in the history have you had the majority tell the minority who could be on committee,” McCarthy complained at the time.

True, Democrats had – with support from some Republicans – removed Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees. But that was because of Rep. Greene’s incendiary and violent statements, such as…