A US lawmaker was removed from her post on the Foreign Affairs Committee in a move that Democrats are criticizing as ‘political revenge’.
House Republicans on Thursday afternoon voted to remove Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar from her seat on the committee that oversees foreign policy and national security.
The House of Representatives voted on party lines to affirm a resolution ousting Omar, one of the first Muslim-American women to serve in Congress, from the committee.
‘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,’ Mississippi Rep Mike Guest said.
Instead, he said it was an act of ‘political revenge.’
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy first suggested that a Republican-lead congress would strip Omar of her committee assignments after Democrats voted to do so against Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep Paul Gosar of Arizona in 2021.
Representation matters.
We didnât come to Congress to be silent.
We came to Congress to be a voice for families who are displaced in refugee camps and those seeking justice around the world.
Because thatâs what this child survivor of war would have wanted. pic.twitter.com/BaLD5bZybV
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) February 2, 2023
Rep Gosar had been censured by the House in November 2021 after he shared a strange campaign video depicting him beheading his colleague, New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as President Joe Biden.
McCarthy denied these allegations, saying ‘this is nothing like the last Congress.’
Omar first came under fire for a series of tweets in 2018, where she criticized the American-Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) using the lyrics from a Puff Daddy song: ‘It’s all about the Benjamins baby,’ she tweeted.
House Democratic leadership, including then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, swiftly rebuked the congresswoman’s remarks.
Omar was also quick to apologize. ‘I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,’ she said. ‘I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA, or the fossil fuel industry.’
Many progressive Democrats passionately defended their colleague, arguing that targeting Omar years later is inappropriate.
‘One of the disgusting legacies after 9/11 has been the targeting and racism against Muslim-Americans across the United States of America, and this is an extension of that legacy,’ Rep Ocasio-Cortez said on the floor.
She also criticized how same congressmembers voted to reinstate Rep Gosar to his committee assignments. ‘There is nothing consistent with the Republican party’s continued attack, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in the body. I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life, and the Republican caucus rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments in this congress.’
Other Democrats criticized the fact that Republicans accused of anti-Semitic remarks were allowed to keep their committee seats.
Wisconsin Rep Marc Pocan called out Rep Greene, who has her own history of anti-Semitic comments. ‘Want to oust people for what they’ve said? How about a member of the majority party who said that Jewish space lasers set forest fires in California? No, she’s seated on a committee.’
California Rep Eric Swalwell called out Ohio Rep Jim Jordan, who previously tweeted the phrase ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ on an official House GOP Twitter account just days before the rapper said he was going ‘Death Con 3 on Jewish people.’
Swalwell noted that the House GOP account kept the Tweet up for 2 months before it was eventually deleted. ‘So don’t come here looking at us for anti-Semitism,’ Swalwell said. ‘Look in your own damn mirror before you ever come over here.’
When it was her time to speak, Omar gave an impassioned speech vowing to continue fighting for human rights in foreign affairs and eventually return to the committee.
‘There is this idea that you are a suspect if you are an immigrant. Or if you are from certain parts of the world or certain skin tone or a Muslim,’ she said.
She continued: ‘I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy? Or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced. Frankly, it is expected. Because when you push power, power pushes back.’
Omar gave her speech next to large printout of herself as a child. The Minnesota Rep grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya, as the child of parents fleeing the Somali Civil War.
‘The 9-year-old me would be disappointed if I did not speak up,’ she said. ‘I am here to stay and I am here to be a voice against harms around the world.’
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