“Screw you, we’re not backing down,” Schiff says of Trump administration
WASHINGTON — Sen. Adam Schiff urged Democrats to confront what he called a “weaponized government” after a series of high-profile investigations and threats that party leaders say are aimed at intimidating political opponents.
When the administration comes after Members of the House and Senate, our response should be: screw you, we’re not backing down.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) February 11, 2026
In the face of a weaponized government trying to intimidate public servants for simply stating the law, we must fight back.
And give no quarter. pic.twitter.com/2M14yixgPw
“When the administration comes after Members of the House and Senate, our response should be: screw you, we’re not backing down,” Schiff wrote in a post on X. “In the face of a weaponized government trying to intimidate public servants for simply stating the law, we must fight back. And give no quarter.”
Schiff, a California Democrat and former House impeachment manager, has become one of the Senate’s most visible critics of President Donald Trump and the president’s allies, while also trying to balance the day-to-day work of governing. His message came as Democrats point to a specific flashpoint: an investigation involving six Democratic lawmakers who recorded a video telling U.S. service members to follow the Constitution and to resist illegal orders.
Those lawmakers — two senators and four House members with military or intelligence backgrounds — said they were contacted by federal investigators and asked for interviews. They argued the video reflected a standard civics message about lawful orders, not a call for defiance. President Trump publicly criticized the lawmakers and accused them of sedition, according to reporting by The Associated Press.
The Justice Department’s inquiry has become a rallying point for Democrats who say the administration is attempting to chill speech, particularly speech from elected officials who are also veterans. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said the investigation amounted to political intimidation, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries defended the group, saying they broke no laws, AP reported.
The AP report also described a separate Pentagon inquiry tied to Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona — including a dispute over his rank and the possibility of additional action — which Kelly has challenged in court, arguing his First Amendment rights were being violated.
Schiff did not mention the six lawmakers by name in his post, but his language mirrored the broader Democratic framing: that investigations into political speech are not simply routine law enforcement but part of an escalating pattern of retaliation. In the same post, Schiff cast the conflict in existential terms, arguing public officials should not retreat in the face of pressure.
While Democrats have used sharper rhetoric in recent days, Republicans and administration allies have argued that public officials should not be insulated from scrutiny when statements implicate national security or military discipline — a tension that has played out for weeks across cable news and social media.
Schiff’s prominence makes his words matter beyond a single post. Since entering the Senate, he has tried to position himself as both a governing Democrat and a central voice of opposition to Trump, including warnings that political norms and guardrails are weakening.
For now, Schiff’s message served as a concise call to action: stop treating the investigations as ordinary politics, he argued, and respond with unified resistance.
