In December 2019, millions of viewers witnessed the broadcast of the first impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump, accused of Russian electoral intervention, which was approved by the House of Representatives and rejected in the Senate.
Adam Schiff, representing the Lower House, was the main impeachment manager in the first impeachment trial of the then president. In fact, he was censured by Republicans for leading the investigation that resulted in this impeachment.
Millions of others, glued to their screens, also watched the investigation of the attempted coup d’état and invasion of Congress on January 6, 2021, carried out by a committee of the House of Representatives in July of that year, from which a number of hearings remained. public.
Schiff is a constant figure in the constitutional fight waged during the Trump presidency.
Senate candidacy
One of the most important primary elections at the national level is the one taking place in the state of California where several candidates are competing for the position of federal senator left vacant by Dianne Feinstein, who died in September of last year.
Schiff participates in them, as one of four leaders in the race and who can be considered the most consistent and the one who has made the most difference.
This January 27, La Opinión endorsed Schiff, supporting his candidacy.
Schiff has been in Congress since 2001 and since then represented District 27, with various nomenclatures – now called District 30, shortly before 29 – and small changes in geographic boundaries. He won re-election eleven times.
It represents the residents of the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and the city of Los Angeles, the towns of Atwater Village, Echo Park, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Mid-Wilshire, Silver Lake and West Hollywood, among others.
Education and political career
He graduated in political science from Stanford University in 1982 and earned his JD from Harvard three years later, both with distinction. After working for a year in a federal judge’s office; He dedicated himself to public service as an Assistant United States Attorney. In 1994 he ran twice for the state Assembly, races he lost. But two years later, he was elected to the state Senate, where he served until 2000.
In the state Senate he experienced, not for the first time, the feeling of having arrived early: he was the youngest member of this legislative chamber.
Then he began his career in Congress. Elected in 2000, he was re-elected 11 times; the last time, in 2022, with 71% of the votes.
In 22 years in the House of Representatives, Adam Schiff has been noted for a number of laws he promoted and his meticulous and impartial work in parliamentary investigations and impeachments. Thus, in 2014 he was one of five Democrats on the House Select Committee on the tragic Benghazi incident. He headed the House Intelligence Committee, and previously the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He created and led the Congressional Press Freedom Caucus, dedicated to strengthening the protection of journalists around the world.
Schiff and the Latinos
But what remains most important to us, and based on his responses to a questionnaire he gave to La Opinión, is his attitude towards the Latino community, which constitutes almost half of California’s population, a percentage that continues to rise.
Schiff wants to present a different model in the relationship with the community’s objectives, detecting that “for too long, politicians have treated the Latino community as a monolith interested only in immigration reform, which, while crucial, is a of many urgent priorities facing Latinos in California.”
And that is why he emphasizes his actions not entirely related to immigration, such as “securing funding for loans from the Small Business Administration to Latino businesses and the Community Navigators program for small businesses in underserved communities.” Likewise, for education, expanding “broadband access, apprenticeship programs, higher wages and the cancellation of student debt.”
He also boasts of having written the Equal Access to Health Care Act, which “turns equal access to health care into a civil right,” and now on the immigration level, he was an “original co-sponsor of the Dream Act.” “I will work – he commits – “to eliminate the obstructionism and approve a comprehensive reform in the Senate.”
Later he adds: “I look forward to working hand in hand with (California’s other senator) Alex Padilla to achieve immigration reform that is consistent with our values. “We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that treats immigrants and immigrant workers with dignity and respect, keeps families together, and gives Dreamers and frontline workers a clear path to citizenship.” Adam Schiff and his wife Eve have two children, Alexa and Elijah. For years he has been an accomplished triathlon athlete, which includes swimming, running and road cycling. Who knows if as a senator he will have to deal more with political races on Capitol Hill.