House Republicans on Thursday voted to eject Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee for her anti-Semitic remarks in chaotic scenes in Congress.
Democrats yelled “no” before the GOP finalized Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bid to remove the squad member over previous comments comparing Israel to Hamas and the Taliban and saying the relationship between the Jewish state was changing and the USA “is all about the Benjamins”.
218 members of the GOP voted to remove Omar from her post — with Rep. David Joyce of Ohio electing the president — while 211 Democrats backed their colleague.
McCarthy insisted Omar’s removal wasn’t “tit-for-tat” – he brushed off Democrats’ claims it was “revenge” for removing Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from their jobs.
Before the vote count was handed over, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned the GOP for the move, saying it amounted to “racism and incitement to violence against women of color.”
“Don’t tell me it’s about consistency. Don’t tell me this is about condemning anti-Semitic speech… This is about attacking women of color in the United States of America,” said the other squad member.
Omar told Republicans, “I’m American,” saying losing her seat on the committee for one term would not make her go.
Progressive Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is likely to be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee after a House vote, several Republican lawmakers have told
Before the vote count was handed over, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned the GOP for the move, saying it amounted to “racism and incitement to violence against women of color.”
In his press conference ahead of the vote, House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries admitted Omar used “anti-Semitic tropes” – but questioned why Omar was booted.
He added there was “no accountability” for Republicans who posted what appeared to be anti-Semitic tweets.
Jeffries was referring to a 2021 tweet in which Rep. Thomas Massie accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) of “foreign interference in our elections” for placing an ad against him.
But Massie doesn’t sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee – McCarthy has said Omar would be allowed to sit on other committees but represented a “national security concern” on this one.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, DN.Y., suggested Republicans were racist for targeting Omar, a Muslim Somali-American.
‘Could it be how she looks?’ he said on the floor of the House of Representatives to applause from the Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., echoed this suggestion.
“This is about appealing to women of color!” she said on the floor of the House of Representatives before the vote.
“One of the disgusting legacies of 9/11 was the attacks and racism against Muslim Americans, and this is an extension of that legacy.”
But after a morning conference session on Wednesday, several Republican lawmakers told they were confident the resolution would pass.
And while mentioning their previously negative remarks about Israel, several also suggested the move was a payback to House Democrats, who removed two far-right Republicans from their posts last Congress.
“The overwhelming number of members I’ve spoken to are — they don’t want to, given their past and perhaps their current views, that they should have a seat on foreign affairs,” said South Dakota Assemblyman Dusty Johnson.
Omar’s Kentucky colleague Andy Barr, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told he had spoken to the congresswoman about the current situation and that she has a “right to free speech” – but no seat on the committee.
“The Committee on Foreign Affairs involves, you know, sensitive intelligence briefings and things like that, and when it comes to our national security and when it comes to our relationship with Israel, your views affect your ability to serve on that committee. ‘ Barr said.
Barr also noted that Republicans are giving Omar a “due process” path after GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana agreed to support the resolution Tuesday night if the progressive had an opportunity to contest the decision at the House Ethics Committee to appeal.
“We’re providing a process,” Barr said. “We’re appealing.”
Alluding to the Democrats who pulled GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her previous committee duties for inflammatory social media posts before she joined Congress, he also said, “We also don’t kick people off committees for statements, that they did before you were in Congress. These are statements she made as a member of Congress.’
“And that’s a significant difference between what Speaker Pelosi did and what Kevin McCarthy did.”
Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the committee that passed the resolution Tuesday night to throw Omar out of the State Department, told reporters Wednesday morning that the full House trial could begin as early as today.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed retaliation for the removal of Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from their committees last Congress
“You were warned two years ago: ‘If you do this, there will be consequences.’ You’re not going to oppose our membership committees and throw Kevin McCarthy commissioners out of things like the January 6th committee while you line up their political equivalents and think there will be no consequences in the majority changes,” said Cole. “Now comes the chickens home, so to speak, to settle down.”
He added: “What I hope is that each side learns something from this and we don’t go down that path again.”
“But there won’t be a situation where they’ve been allowed to do that to our members, and now they’re not even acknowledging that what they did was a mistake, that might help,” said Cole.
Along with the removal of Greene over social media activity parroting QAnon plots and inciting violence against high-profile Democrats, the 117th Congress also removed Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for having a posted a video attacking progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds asked in disbelief: “Are you serious?” when asked why he thinks Omar should be kicked out of the top-level foreign affairs panel.
“First of all, Congresswoman Omar – this is the third time her anti-Semitic statements have been questioned. In 2019. There was a resolution brought into the House specifically about her that watered down Nancy Pelosi to just say Congress is against anti-Semitism,” Donalds said.
“Well, of course Congress is against anti-Semitism, but there is one member who has had this rhetorical problem and frankly a philosophical problem for some time.
“We have our political problems here in the United States. We all know that. But Israel, our most important ally in this region, has not been a bone of contention between Republicans and Democrats on foreign policy, with all but one member. So why should this member remain in the State Department?’