Adam Schiff’s Impeachment Performance Leads To Huge Fundraising Haul, Speculation Of Senate Run

Adam Schiff may not be winning the impeachment trial, but his prosecution of President Donald Trump is earning the California congressman plenty of campaign donations — and speculation that he could have his eyes on higher office.

As The Hill reported, Schiff drew $2.5 million in fundraising in the fourth quarter of 2019 — an amount that is seen as an especially significant sum for a congressman in a very safe Democratic district. He did not face much of a challenge in 2018, winning California’s 28th Congressional District with close to 80 percent of the vote. As the report noted, he came into 2020 with more than $8.1 million cash on hand.

The fundraising haul came as Schiff was leading the House impeachment inquiry as chair of the House Intelligence Committee. The California lawmaker has continued to earn good marks as a lead prosecutor, with even some Senate Republicans saying he has been effective in laying out the case that Trump allegedly abused power by pressuring Ukraine into digging up dirt on political rival Joe Biden.

The president is still expected to be acquitted, especially after a critical vote last week in which Republicans blocked attempts to call witnesses.

As the report noted, there is rising speculation that Schiff could rise up the ranks in the Democratic Party, with his eyes possibly set on a run for the U.S. Senate or as House Speaker.

“I think he would be a good senator,” Rep. Norma Torres, a fellow Democrat and member of Congress from California, told The Hill in a 2019 interview. “I think how he’s handled himself is very admirable, that he’s been able to keep his composure even though he’s been personally attacked. This is not easy for him.”

But Schiff’s prosecution has also made him one of the most prominent targets for the right. A number of Republicans have launched personal attacks against the congressman, spreading unfounded allegations that he colluded with the unnamed whistleblower who first reported Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine. These lawmakers have also claimed that his investigations into the president were motivated solely by politics. Trump himself has frequently lobbed insults at Schiff.

This week, Newt Gingrich launched into a personal attack against Schiff in an interview with Laura Ingraham. He accused him of lying repeatedly in his investigations, calling him a “compulsive, uncontrollable liar.”

“I think it also incumbent on Schiff. I mean Schiff personally, is obviously — a deranged human being. This is about Schiff. You know, Schiff is a guy who is a pathological liar,” Gingrich said, via the Washington Examiner.

Schiff has not said publicly whether he intends to run for the U.S. Senate, or whether he has aspirations to become House speaker.