On Thursday, Representative Adam

B.

Schiff turned 63. His birthday present came a day early, courtesy of vengeful House Republicans.

Ship was formally censored for his role on Wednesday

in

calling to account the most immoral, egocentric, egotistical, rebellious president in modern American history.

All that was missing was wrapping paper, a shiny red bow and a studded greeting card

X

sand

O

‘s.

Former President Trump has described Schiff as “unreliable

,

“”sick” and “corrupt.” Hey

has

also made the congressman what he is today:

a

political understanding and prosecuting hero to millions of Democrats across the country.

The House GOP’s rebuke further cemented Schiff’s political standing, moving the Burbank Democrat closer to his goal of defeating a handful of party rivals and succeeding Dianne Feinstein as the next U.S. senator from California.

“I’d call it an ad for Adam Schiff,” said Bob Shrum, a veteran Democratic strategist who teaches political science at USC, after the party line’s censure vote. “Brought to the Republican House by the MAGA caucus.”

In today’s nihilistic political climate, what a candidate achieves matters less and less to partisans than who they antagonize along the way.

With enemies like Trump and his acolytes, Schiff might wonder, who needs friends?

Wednesday’s vote was a monumental exercise in political self-gratification. The move had no practical impact, it was purely symbolic, except to diminish the already-deteriorating image of the inmate-run House asylum.

Disapproval, which occurred only 25 times

the House

is a punishment usually reserved for criminal conduct, ethics violations, or serious conduct violations.

Schiff, who led the prosecution in Trump’s first impeachment trial, which involved attempted bribery and Ukraine, was reprimanded for helping expose covert Russian interference, among other charges

in the 2016 election in support of and

from Trump

2016

campaign.

Contrary to the claims of Trump and others, an investigation by Special Counsel Robert

S

Mueller III has not cleared Trump or campaign strategists of charges

That

she

had

encouraged Russian interference, although it found no evidence of criminal conspiracy.

Mueller strongly advocated obstruction of justice, but said Justice Department policy does not allow a sitting president to face criminal charges.

However, none of that mattered in the GOPs

show trial, where the verdict was predetermined and all that mattered was to satiate the bestial spirit of the Republican base.

Schiff’s actions “torn American families across the country,” proclaimed the censorship’s chief sponsor, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, without exaggeration. He was “permanently destroying family relationships.”

And you thought fighting over the remote was a problem.

When it was time for Schiff’s formal reprimand

as he stood

at the front of the House chamber, where the censorship resolution was read by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, he was swarmed by fellow Democrats, who clapped him on the back.

“Shame,” they chanted, and their catcalls “Shame,” “What about George Santos?” caused a frustrated McCarthy to start and stop repeatedly.

Meanwhile a fund

–

a call from Schiff ricocheted across the internet.

Last week, an attempt to censor the ship failed as some in the GOP objected to a proposed $16

–

million fine.

“Again, I must be

on

the House floor to listen to MAGA Republicans spread false and slanderous lies about me,” Schiff complained in his

fundraising

email.

But after the proceedings, the newly admonished legislator was all smiles.

Before Trump came along, Schiff was barely known outside of his Southern California district.

His claim to fame, if you would call it that, was elected in 2000 in what was once the most expensive House race in US history.

Subsequently, Congress launched its investigation separately from the Mueller investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 campaign. As a top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, the studious Schiff became the pouting face of the Congressional Inquisition

and a Trump target.

He was elevated by a slew of insult-laden presidential tweets and became a television staple, which in turn put Schiff in a strong fight in the 2024 race for Feinstein’s Senate seat. His two main Democratic competitors are Reps. Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland.

The substantive differences between the three are relatively small. But Porter and Lee have been running hard to the left, targeting the party’s liberal base by suggesting that Schiff, a favorite of former chairman Nancy Pelosi and others in the party establishment, is somehow less of a Democrat.

That gets harder when the Republicans treat him as Public Enemy No. 1.

Katha cq

Hartley, a Bay Area Democratic activist, was positively effusive in the hours following the censorship vote.

She is a former president of the Democrats of Rossmoor Club, a must for political hopefuls; Schiff, Porter and Lee all made the trek to audition for hundreds of members in the 55 and older

–

community.

“He is a symbol of what stands between the MAGAs and our democracy,” Hartley said of Schiff. “He brings it to them. He points out what they’re doing. It’s honorable that he was censored.”

She declared Wednesday “a victory day” for the sanctioned congressman, and

said

despite her desire to see a woman take Feinstein’s place, she said, “My gut tells me I’m going to vote for Adam Schiff.”

He can thank the House Republicans for that.