All nine Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have called for the committee's chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), to step down.

What happened?

In a news release that was posted to the committee's website, GOP Reps. Devin Nunes (Calif.), Michael Conaway (Texas), Michael Turner (Ohio), Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), Chris Stewart (Utah), Rick Crawford (Ark.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Will Hurd (Texas), and John Ratcliffe (Texas) said that Schiff's actions were "incompatible" with his "duty as Chairman of this Committee, which alone in the House of Representatives has the obligation and authority to provide effective oversight of the U.S. intelligence community."

The letter specifically calls out Schiff for telling media outlets that there was "significant evidence of collusion" between President Donald Trump and Russia and for suggesting that the president was "compromised" by "a hostile foreign power."

Schiff's colleagues criticized him for continuing to make these statements after special counsel Robert Mueller's final report, which said Mueller did not find that President Donald Trump's campaign had colluded with the Russian government to impact the 2016 election.

For all these reasons, the committee members wrote in their letter to Schiff, "We have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your Constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as Chairman of this Committee."

Several of the signers of the letter also tweeted their disapproval with Schiff. Turner dismissed Schiff's statements about Trump as "McCarthyism" and accused the chairman of "advancing Putin's work."

Early Thursday morning, Trump also tweeted that Schiff should be "forced to resign."

Schiff responded



In a speech Thursday, Schiff pointed to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's possible attempts to do business with the Kremlin and the now infamous Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer. Schiff insisted that these actions were "corrupt" and "evidence of collusion."

"You might say that's all OK. You might say that's just what you need to do to win. But I don't think it's OK. I think it's immoral. I think it's unethical. And I think it is unpatriotic," he said, according to CNBC.