House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) decried what he described as an “epidemic of cowardice” in the GOP, slamming Republicans for not speaking out against President Trump.
Schiff, who frequently criticizes Trump and is locked in a dispute with the administration over investigations into the White House, said the president has split from GOP orthodoxy on a host of issues.
{mosads}“I think what we knew, implicitly, was that courage is contagious,” Schiff said during a question-and-answer session with Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer on Thursday that was reported by Politico.
“But what we didn’t realize is that cowardice is also contagious. I think there’s been an epidemic of cowardice in the GOP. This president doesn’t stand for anything that the Republican Party said it stood for.”
Schiff said that Republican lawmakers have privately spoken with him to “express their deep concerns and worries” about the president’s administration and offer some encouragement for his committee’s probe into the president.
“But I’m, frankly, exhausted by the private misgivings,” Schiff said. “People need to speak out.”
Schiff did praise Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), who this month said that Trump committed impeachable offenses.