Republicans are hoping that the decision to shut down the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian election meddling also shuts down the budding cable TV career of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
"The committee's conclusion means leaders in Congress can spend more time on issues the American people elected them to address, like infrastructure and the economy," RNC spokesman Michael Ahrens told the Washington Examiner.
"It's not shocking that the person most upset by the outcome had used the investigation to launch his TV career," he said in reference to Schiff.
Ahrens' group last month calculated that Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee, held 227 TV interviews in the 13 months ending late February about the Russia probe, according to the RNC. Schiff over the last year became the bane of congressional Republicans, who accused him of leaking information about the probe to the press, and keeping alive what they say is false premise that President Trump colluded with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
But Schiff's status could change after Rep. Devin Nunes' Intelligence Committee decided to end its work on Russia. Nunes, R-Calif., released a summary of the committee's draft report that said there was no collusion.
Schiff was outraged at the decision, and made it clear that Democrats would continue to plug away at their collusion theory because Republicans left "questions unanswered." But Nunes' move will likely marginalize those efforts, which left some gleeful Republicans predicting they might soon be seeing less of Schiff on TV.
"If Schiff stopped going on TV to talk about his Russia collusion conspiracy theory, he'd free up an unbelievable amount of time," one congressional Republican official said. "Maybe he could use it to track down who killed Jimmy Hoffa or chase UFOs."
Another senior GOP aide joked that ending the probe "will hit cable TV bookers the hardest."
The RNC in February put together a report on how frequently Schiff has appeared on TV to talk about the Russia probe, which accused him of working mostly to "increase his viability."
It cited reports saying Schiff is a "day-to-day, hour-to-hour fixture on cable TV news," and that he became an "overnight celebrity" because of his appearances.
The RNC also cited a Politico story from 2017 that said he harbors "grander ambitions," which could include a run for statewide office.
Schiff was on CNN Monday night, where he was asked whether both Republicans and Democrats politicized the Russia probe, and specifically whether Schiff spent too much time on TV. He rejected that argument.
"Yes, we have gone on television to say the Republicans need to bring Steve Bannon back in, on Don Jr. made a false claim of privilege, because it was the only way to hold the majority accountable," he said.
