The Republican-led House of Representatives voted on Thursday to pass a resolution to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.
\nHouse Republicans have argued Omar should not serve on the committee in light of past statements she has made related to Israel that in some cases been criticized by members of both parties as antisemitic. Democrats have criticized the push to oust Omar, arguing it amounts to an act of political revenge and that the Minnesota Democrat has been held accountable for her past remarks. The party-line vote was 218 to 211. GOP Rep. David Joyce of Ohio voted \u201cpresent.\u201d
\nOmar was defiant in a floor speech ahead of the vote. \u201cMy leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term. My voice will get louder and stronger,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cSo take your vote or not \u2013 I am here to stay, and I am here to be a voice against harms around the world and advocate for a better world,\u201d the congresswoman said.
\nHouse Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of seeking \u201cpolitical revenge.\u201d
\n\u201cI will move immediately to seat Rep. Omar on the House Budget Committee where she will defend Democratic values against right-wing extremism,\u201d Jeffries tweeted after the House vote.
\nThe action by House Republicans comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy officially denied seats\u2002on the House Intelligence Committee to Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff, the former chairman of the panel \u2013 a decision that was condemned by Democrats.
\nMcCarthy vowed last year\u2002that if Republicans won back the House majority, he would strip Schiff, Swalwell and Omar of committee assignments, arguing that Democrats created a \u201cnew standard\u201d when they held the majority by removing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene\u2002of Georgia and Paul Gosar\u2002of Arizona from committees for violent rhetoric and posts.
\nHouse Republicans, now in the majority, have given Greene and Gosar committee\u2002assignments for the new Congress.
\nIn 2019, Omar issued a public apology after she faced a backlash for tweets condemned on both sides of the aisle. The apology came after the Minnesota Democrat faced widespread criticism\u2002after suggesting Republican support of Israel is fueled by donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel group.
\nThere have been other incidents as well: In 2021, a group of Jewish House Democrats\u2002accused Omar of equating the US and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the US. In response, Omar said that she was \u201cin no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries.\u201d
\nGreene and Gosar, who will now have committee assignments, have also faced criticism from both sides of the aisle. Last year, Republican leaders in Congress condemned both lawmakers for speaking at a White nationalist conference.
\nGreene spoke at the America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida \u2013 an event founded by the far-right activist Nick Fuentes as an alternative to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Gosar appeared at the America First Political Action Conference via a pre-recorded video, HuffPost reported. Gosar also attended the same conference last year.
\nGreene defended her appearance\u2002in a lengthy statement, dismissing the blowback as \u201cfake divisions and disingenuous allegations\u201d and proclaiming that she won\u2019t \u201ccancel\u201d other conservatives even if she finds their statements \u201ctasteless, misguided or even repulsive at times.\u201d
\nA CNN KFile review of Gosar\u2019s events\u2002and social media posts over the years found that the lawmaker has long associations with White nationalists, a pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe players. A spokesperson for Gosar declined to comment on specific questions about the congressman\u2019s associates in response to the reporting.
\nIn 2021, Greene apologized for her \u201coffensive\u201d comments comparing Capitol Hill mask-wearing rules to the Holocaust after visiting the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
\nOmar, Schiff and Swalwell have pushed back in reaction to McCarthy\u2019s effort to strip them of committee seats.
\n\u201cKevin McCarthy\u2019s purely partisan moves to strip us from our committee is not only a political stunt, but also a blow to the integrity of our democratic institution and threat to our national security,\u201d Omar said at a recent press conference where she spoke alongside Schiff and Swalwell.
\nDemocrats had also argued the move is hypocritical by pointing to the fact that embattled GOP Rep. George Santos, who is facing mounting legal issues\u2002and growing calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume and identity, had been awarded seats on two committees.
\nIn an abrupt change in course, however, Santos told the House GOP conference on Tuesday behind closed doors that he wants off of his two committees\u2002until his issues are resolved, three members told CNN.
\nMcCarthy has the power to unilaterally block Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee because it is a select committee. Ousting Omar, however, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee required a vote of the full House of Representatives.
\nMcCarthy told CNN Tuesday evening that he had the votes to oust Omar. The assertion came after House GOP leaders worked to lock down the votes after several members of their conference had signaled resistance to the move.
\nOne of those Republicans, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, announced on Tuesday that she is now prepared to support a resolution to oust Omar, citing the addition of \u201cdue process language.\u201d
\n\u201cI appreciate Speaker McCarthy\u2019s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to our resolution. Deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches,\u201d the congresswoman said in a statement.
\nSpartz had previously indicated\u2002that she opposed the effort to remove the three Democratic lawmakers from committees.<\/p>\n
Cnn<\/p>\n
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