On a party-line vote Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The resolution to […]
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On a party-line vote Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The resolution to remove Omar passed on a vote of 218-211, with one Republican voting present. Democrats angrily screamed “NOOOOO!” against the resolution to oust Omar.
Democrats scream NOOOOOOOOOOO when voting against the resolution to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee pic.twitter.com/AFqWuPM8Wf
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 2, 2023
Omar’s presence on the committee had been a point of contention for years due to the allegedly Anti-Semitic statements she has made in regard to Israel.
The Republican justification for removing Omar from the committee was spelled out in the four-page resolution. It states that in 2019, Omar suggested that Jewish people were buying U.S. political support when she said, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” which struck many — including many Democrats — as an antisemitic trope.
Omar also accused some Jewish Americans of having “allegiance to a foreign country,” which again prompted backlash among Republicans and Democrats who said it was offensive and antisemitic to suggest supporting Israel is the same as having a foreign allegiance.
A month later, Omar described the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. that killed nearly 3,000 people as “some people did something.” Malliotakis said that line was especially egregious to lawmakers from New York, and is “unacceptable” for any member of the committee to say.
In 2021, Omar called Israel an “apartheid state,” and lumped the U.S. and Israel in with Hamas and the Taliban as political entities that have committed “unthinkable atrocities.”
“She’s literally getting intelligence briefings on foreign policy in the United States, including our relationship with Israel,” said Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) in a March 2019 interview with Fox News. “Why would you have her on a committee that is that important, that sensitive to our foreign policy if she has those kinds of Anti-Semitic beliefs?” he asked at the time. “She ought to be removed immediately from the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
The move comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied seats on the House Intelligence Committee to Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), enraging Democrats who say the push to oust the three from their committee assignments was just an act of political revenge.
Under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, Rep. Marjory Taylor Green (R-Ga.) was stripped of all her committees in February of 2021 (for “incendiary” speech), and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) was censured and stripped of his committee assignments in November of 2021 (because he retweeted an anime video depicting himself, Rep. Marjory Taylor Green (R-Ga.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) as superheroes slaying Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Joe Biden in battle).
After MTG was ousted from her committees, McCarthy vowed retribution whenever the GOP was next in the majority. “If this is the new standard, I look forward to continuing out the standard,” McCarthy said in a floor speech.
Both Greene and Gosar have been given committee assignments for the new Congress.
House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged that Omar has used Anti-Semitic tropes” in the past, but still protested the resolution to remove her from the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee.
Hakeem Jeffries: “Rep. Omar has used antisemitic tropes” pic.twitter.com/kE0Kahl0Xl
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 2, 2023
Jeffries also defended the Democrat moves against Greene and Gosar, claiming they had incited violence against their colleagues.
“The line should be drawn when there are members of Congress who are actively threatening violence against colleagues,” he said, adding, “We take violent threats seriously because we’ve lived them.”
An infuriated Alexandria Ocasio Cortez accused Republicans of continuing “one of the disgusting legacies of 9/11” by targeting Omar. “One of the disgusting legacies of 9-11 has been the targeting and racism against Muslim Americans throughout the United States of America and this is an extension of that legacy,” AOC fumed. “There is nothing consistent with the Republican party’s continued attacks except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body.” Cortez then dramatically accused a member of the Republican caucus of threatening her life, referring to Gosar, who had retweeted a meme. “The Republican caucus rewarded him with one of the most prestigious in this Congress!” she hollered.
AOC on Republicans removing Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Cmte: “One of the disgusting legacies of 9-11 has been the targeting and racism against Muslim Americans and this is an extension of that legacy… Racism and incitement of violence against women of color.” pic.twitter.com/zHrE0VutTn
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 2, 2023
During the Speaker fight last month, AOC and Gosar were seen on the House floor engaged in friendly conversation.
AOC and Gosar…a match made in heaven.. pic.twitter.com/7LKLRpiv7k
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) January 3, 2023
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) blamed “white supremacy” for the decision to remove Omar from her committee assignments.
Rep. Cori Bush on removing Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Cmte: “The white supremacy happening is unbelievable. Ilhan Omar has been harassed at her job for simply existing as a Muslim woman in Congress.” pic.twitter.com/dKNnr9LtMA
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 2, 2023
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) furiously railed against the decision, bawling, “I am so sorry sis, you belong on that committee!” and “our country is failing you!”
Rashida Tlaib literally breaks down in tears over Ilhan Omar being removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee. pic.twitter.com/Q81minIxvJ
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 2, 2023
Speaker McCarthy got fired up when defending vote to remove Omar, reminding reporters that “every Democrat voted to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene” based on something she said before she even came to Congress.”
He added: “So they wanted to override what the American people in her district decided.”
.@SpeakerMcCarthy once again fired up about the double standards on display over removing Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee: pic.twitter.com/3E1Rnq6W8u
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 2, 2023