Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., informed the House of Representatives on Friday that he will resign his seat on Sunday and be sworn in as California's junior senator on Monday.
Schiff defeated former baseball star Steve Garvey by more than 17 points in November to win the Senate seat that first opened with the death of longtime Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Laphonza Butler was appointed to fill Feinstein's seat until November's special election, and Butler opted against running for reelection.
Schiff will be joined at Monday's swearing-in by Sen.-elect Andy Kim, D-N.J., who will also resign from the House on Sunday. Kim replaces Sen. George Helmy, appointed over the summer to finish out the term of disgraced Democrat ex-Sen. Bob Menendez, who was convicted on federal bribery charges in July.
The early exits allow Schiff and Kim to build seniority over four other incoming Democrat freshman colleagues in the Senate, the Washington Examiner reported. The 119th Congress begins Jan. 3, 2025.
The exits of Schiff and Kim will also reduce Democrats' seats to 211 — vs. Republicans' 220 — after Sunday for the remainder of the 118th Congress. Republicans will open the 119th Congress with a 220-215 majority.
Schiff ends his 24-year tenure in the House, where as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he led the first impeachment of President-elect Donald Trump over the decision to withhold aid to Ukraine. Schiff was later stripped of his Intelligence Committee assignment by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also of California, and House Republicans voted to censure Schiff in June 2023.