Congressman Adam Schiff is now Senator Adam Schiff, as he was officially sworn in Monday to cover the balance of the late Dianne Feinstein's term. And he says he doesn't just want to be known as a thorn in Trump's side.

Schiff, a 23-year veteran of the House, was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on the floor of the Senate Chamber, and gave a statement after taking the oath of office.

"I will work with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to help our state and our families succeed," Schiff said. "At the same time, I will not shrink from my duty to defend our democracy and will vigorously protect the rights and freedoms of the American people and the people of California."

In an interview with the Associated Press Monday, Schiff praised Feinstein's ability to cross the aisle, saying, the late senator "was able to do a couple things simultaneously, which I’m going to need to try to do as well, and that is work with others to deliver for the state, work across party lines to get things done, and at the same time, stand up and defend people’s rights and their freedom and their values when those things are threatened."

As the AP notes, while many Democrats in the Senate have remained quiet the last few weeks as Trump has announced a raft of increasingly unqualified and questionable nominees for cabinet posts and other roles, Schiff hasn't been so quiet. Following the nomination of Kash Patel to lead the FBI, Schiff tweeted that Patel was "more suited as internet troll than FBI Director."

Trump has not been subtle in his criticisms of "Shifty Schiff" and others, like Liz Cheney, whom he continues to say should be "in jail" for their roles in investigating January 6th — and, in Schiff's case, serving as a House Impeachment Manager in Trump's first impeachment. It remains to be seen if a Trump Justice Department will seek retribution against Schiff and others — though it seems highly likely it will!

Still, Schiff tells the AP he thinks a pre-emptive pardon from Biden is "unnecessary," and that the president shouldn't be spending his waning days in office worrying about this.

As Schiff told NPR Monday, of Trump, "if he's serious about his threats, then obviously I'm going to stand up to him. The threats that concern me the most, frankly, are less the ones directed at me and more the ones directed at mass deportations and splitting up families and destroying our economy as that would accomplish."

Schiff joins the Senate as the Junior Senator from California, alongside Alex Padilla, who has himself only served four years. He steps in after the stepping down of Laphonza Butler, who had pledged to be a placeholder senator after her appointment by Governor Gavin Newsom last year. On the ballot in November, we also elected Schiff to the one-month remainder of Feinstein's term.

In January, Schiff's real six-year term begins, as Feinstein's term would have ended after this year.

Top image: en. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (L) is ceremonially sworn-in by Vice President Kamala Harris with his wife Eve Schiff in the Old Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on December 09, 2024 in Washington, DC. Schiff was officially sworn in earlier by Harris in the Senate Chamber. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)