Adam Schiff officially took office this month as California’s newest U.S. senator. He talks to KCRW about the prospect of a preemptive pardon before President Joe Biden leaves office, President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations, and more.
On the possibility of political prosecution
On Sunday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke on NBC that danger is high for elected officials who’ve opposed President-elect Trump. The incoming commander-in-chief has said that members of the January 6th Committee should go to jail. Since he served on that committee, does Schiff worry that he’ll be investigated and even prosecuted?
“I think Senator Sanders is exactly right, that that kind of talk by an incoming president, that he's going to seek to jail his political opponents, that is not the talk we hear from U.S. presidents,” Schiff says. “It's the kind of talk you hear from a would-be dictator. So we should be concerned about it.”
He points out that recently, Republican members of the Oversight Committee suggested that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney be prosecuted for investigating the Capitol insurrection. “So now you have members of Congress getting in the act — all very, very concerning.”
However, Schiff has opposed preemptive pardons. “I don't like the precedent it would set. I could see that precedent being badly used by President Trump on his departure from his second term, pardoning large categories of people in his administration. … Now Trump may do it anyway. … But nevertheless, I wouldn't want to be the first to set that precedent.”
He continues, “And I also think it's simply unnecessary. We're proud of the work we did on the January 6 committee. It was classic and vital oversight. And what made those hearings powerful is that the vast majority of witnesses were Republicans, and many of them high-ranking Republicans within the Trump administration.”
On Trump’s electoral college and popular vote victories
The U.S. Electoral College officially confirmed the results of the 2024 presidential election on Tuesday, formalizing Trump’s November win.
In the aftermath of the election and 2021 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, Schiff suggests economic anxiety had more sway on Americans than fears over the future of democracy.
“The fact that they couldn't afford their rent or that they couldn't get into their first home, or even more broadly, that the quality of life their parents had seems better than what they have or are likely to have — I think that was the far more pressing thing for, at least, the narrow majority of Americans who prefer him over Kamala Harris,” says Schiff.
On the apparent growing embrace of Trump
Schiff says it’s less that individuals like Jeff Bezos have suddenly grown fond of Trump, but instead, they fear economic consequences if they “don’t kiss the ring.”
“If you look at the self-censorship decision by The Washington Post or The LA Times — two papers owned by two very wealthy business people — it's hard to imagine that part of the motivation wasn't concern over Trump vindictiveness. That if they endorsed Harris, as they had been poised to do, that he would punish their businesses.”
He continues, “I do worry that we are on the road to turning into some kind of oligarchy, where the wealthy business interests, even to a greater degree than they have before, are going to be running things and rewarded for their loyalty to the president.”
Schiff points to Elon Musk, who is a major government contractor. He questions how the SpaceX CEO can be a neutral decision maker about what parts of the government to cut in the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency.
More: What Elon Musk stands to gain as Trump’s government efficiency czar
“The influence-peddling is going to be in hyperdrive. And at the same time, we're going to have to redouble our efforts to be fighting for those people who are struggling to pay their rent, and pay their food bill, and to afford health care. The same people who voted [with] their pocketbook are not going to be served by simply catering to these wealthy billionaires.”
On confirming Trump’s cabinet nominees
Schiff says his priority is supporting well-qualified picks, even if their policy views don’t align with his own. That includes Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who Trump has tapped as U.S. secretary of state.
As for others, however, like Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, and Kash Patel, former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller?
“I'm also going to stand up to the president where it's necessary to defend our state and our values. And with respect to some of these nominees like Kash Patel, who are patently unqualified and could do great harm to the country, I'm going to certainly vigorously oppose them.”
He adds, in regards to Hegseth, “I'm deeply troubled by several things: by these serious allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, by allegations of intoxication while on the job. Do we want someone running the Pentagon, which has had a serious problem with sexual assault in the military, who has a record of it, potentially himself? … Plus, no experience running a massive agency. Yes, service in the military, which I respect, but running the Pentagon requires somebody who can manage hundreds of thousands of people and defense contractors. And that's a big job for a Fox News host with no management experience to speak of. And the management experience he had with nonprofits was, evidently, catastrophic.”