As a congressman who led the first impeachment of President Trump, Mr. Schiff relished his role in the resistance. Now a senator, he must protect his state’s interests at a perilous time.
Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, is better known among Republicans as “pencil neck,” “shifty Schiff” and just plain old “scum.”
Ever since his role as the lead manager of President Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, Mr. Schiff has held a special place in the hierarchy of Mr. Trump’s political enemies: right on top. Last year, Mr. Trump was still railing against him at almost every campaign rally, and House Republicans aligned with Mr. Trump censured Mr. Schiff over his role in that investigation.
It made for a fund-raising boon: One email Mr. Schiff sent this week crowed that “Trump called me ‘scum’ — from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.” And being public enemy No. 1 of die-hard Trump supporters helped elevate him to the Senate seat he now occupies.
But Mr. Schiff has risen at a complicated time. Large areas in his state have been destroyed by fires and California will need federal disaster aid to rebuild. Mr. Trump is the president again, and he has already threatened to withhold that money unless Democrats furnish votes for his policy priorities. Procuring the funds for California will mean working with the administration, not just being a figure associated with any kind of resistance.
Mr. Schiff on Thursday turned down an invitation to accompany the president on a tour of the devastation in Los Angeles County, citing scheduled votes in the Senate on Friday. Mr. Trump, in turn, told reporters on Friday that he had never invited Mr. Schiff.
In an interview in his office on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Schiff discussed the tricky spot he was in, why he wished former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had not pardoned him and how he planned to do his new job given his bad blood with the president.