The House fired Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, making good on another republican promise to voters. Omar has a long history of making anti-American and antisemitic statements, and while serving on the committee, even equated the U.S. to terror groups like Hamas. The vote to remove her was 218-211 along party lines.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the resolution was a matter of national security,
“She said Americans only like Israel because it’s all about the Benjamins… What does that say to other people around the world? It’s not right. We were right in our action and she can serve on other committees. It puts America in jeopardy and I’m not going to do that on my watch. And it’s fair in the process, unlike them.”
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The House Foreign Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over bills relating to American foreign policy. Members are given particularly sensitive intel, which most congress members are unaware of. Omar’s membership has been highly controversial, given her past behavior as a lawmaker.
Democrats denied those concerns, however, expressing in several tantrums on the House floor that this was really about trying to ‘silence women of color.’
Fellow “squad” member Rashida Tlaib, D-MI, said that republicans were “weaponizing hate against a black, beautiful, Muslim woman.” She shouted through tears, “The hypocrisy is obvious to the American people. You are showing who you all are… I will not be silent. To congresswoman Omar, I am so sorry that our country is failing you today through this chamber. You belong on that committee.” Tlaib screamed even as she was warned several times that her time had expired. Her mic was eventually cut off.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, took issue with republican claims of ‘consistency.’
“Consistency? There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party’s continued attack, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body.” Ocasio-Cortez continued, “This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America.”
Several other democrats echoed the claim that this was about Omar’s skin color, not her past comments. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “Why is this member being targeted today? Could it be the way that she looks? Could it be her religious practices? Because it’s clear if she were on the other side of the aisle, we would not be having this debate today.”
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
Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, pushed back against the democrat tirades, saying she had seen firsthand Omar’s disrespect for the committee,
“As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I’ve sat there and heard the representative actually spew anti-American rhetoric as well… I’ve been in that committee room where the representative equates Israel and the United States to Hamas and the Taliban. Absolutely unacceptable for a member of that committee.”
The resolution detailed numerous cases of Omar making anti-American and antisemitic comments.
In 2019, Omar spoke at a conference hosted by the Council of American-Islamic Relations. She notoriously said that the council “was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”
Earlier that year, Omar accused Jewish Americans of being compromised by dual loyalties to Israel. Her own party condemned her comments in a formal resolution, and she was forced to issue an apology.
“Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” ~ @Ilhan Omar@IlhanMN needs to stop her Jew hating tweets and comments. Period. #StopDemocratsAntiSemitism#PowaySynagogueShooting pic.twitter.com/5lB1Xopjo2
— Save American Small Business (@SaveUSASmallBiz) April 28, 2019
Despite democrats’ spirited defense of Congresswoman Omar, more Americans agree with the decision. According to a January YouGov poll, only 27% of Americans surveyed said that Omar should be allowed to keep her committee assignments. Less than half of all democrats polled said Omar should be allowed on the committee, at 41%.
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The resolution says members of the Foreign Affairs Committee should be held to an “equal standard of conduct due to the international sensitivities and national security concerns under the jurisdiction of this committee.”
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