The Republican-led House have ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel comments.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to solidify Republicans to take action against the Somali-born Muslim in the new Congress although some GOP lawmakers had expressed reservations.
Removal of lawmakers from House committees was essentially unprecedented until the Democratic ousters two years ago of hard-right Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona.
The 218-211 vote, along party lines, came after a heated, raucous debate in which Democrats accused the GOP of going after Omar based on her race.
Omar, who has apologized for 2019 remarks widely seen as antisemitic, defended herself on the House floor, asking if anyone was surprised she was being targeted. Democratic colleagues hugged her during the vote.
“My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world, as it has been,” Omar said in a closing speech.
According to Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the incoming Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, House Republicans focused on six statements she has made that “under the totality of the circumstances, disqualify her from serving on the Committee of Foreign Affairs.”
“All members, both Republicans and Democrats alike who seek to serve on Foreign Affairs, should be held to the highest standard of conduct due to the international sensitivity and national security concerns under the jurisdiction of this committee.”
Michael Guest
Republicans have clashed with Omar since she arrived in Congress, and former President Donald Trump frequently mocked her at his rallies in ways that appealed to his supporters.
The resolution proposed by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former official in the Trump administration, declared, “Omar’s comments have brought dishonor to the House of Representatives.”
Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York opined that Omar has at times “made mistakes” and used anti-Semitic tropes that were condemned by House Democrats four years ago.
But that’s not what Thursday’s vote was about, Jeffries said. “It’s about political revenge,” he added.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., went further, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attack as she called the GOP’s action part of one of the “disgusting legacies after 9/11, the targeting and racism against Muslim-Americans throughout the United States of America and this is an extension of that legacy.”
Ocasio-Cortez added, “This is about targeting women of color.”
Omar’s Ouster Not Revenge For Greene And Gosar Removals
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied that the Republican decision to oust Omar was a revenge after the Greene and Gosar removals under Democrats, though he had warned in late 2021 that such a response might be expected if Republicans won back the House majority.
McCarthy noted that Omar can remain on other panels, just not Foreign Affairs, after her anti-Israel comments.
Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. She is also the first to wear a hijab in the House chamber after floor rules were changed to allow members to wear head coverings for religious reasons.
Omar quickly generated controversy after joining Congress in 2019 with a pair of tweets that suggested lawmakers who supported Israel were motivated by money.
Also, in a May 2021 tweet, Omar made reference to Israel as “an apartheid state” over its treatment of Palestinians.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, the chairman of the committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, argued for excluding Omar from the panel during a recent closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans.
“It’s just that her worldview of Israel is so diametrically opposed to the committee’s,” McCaul told reporters in describing his stance.
“I don’t mind having differences of opinion, but this goes beyond that.”
Michael McCaul
At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the ouster, “It’s a political stunt.”
Several Republicans who were skeptical of removing Omar wanted “due process” for lawmakers who face removal.
McCarthy said he told them that he would work with Democrats on creating a due process system, but acknowledged it’s still a work in progress. One Republican, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, voted present.
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