Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced on Thursday a bid to force a vote on censuring Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the leftist “Squad,” for remarks concerning her native Somalia.
Greene accused Omar, a Somali refugee who became a U.S. citizen, of acting as a “foreign agent” and making “treasonous statements” in a January 27 speech at a Minneapolis event about the U.S. government’s support for the interests of Somalia.
The resolution not only seeks to censure Omar but also remove her from the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Omar was previously kicked off the Foreign Affairs Committee last year over comments she made about Israel.
Greene signaled on the House floor that she intended to introduce her resolution as privileged, which would prompt leadership to act on it within two legislative days — likely early next week.
.@RepMTG introduces resolution to censure Rep. @Ilhan Omar (D-MN). pic.twitter.com/hGdR2PQeYo
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 1, 2024
Controversy over Omar’s speech largely rests on how the Democrat’s remarks to a group of Somali supporters have been translated from Somali to English. She was speaking about a controversial port deal between Ethiopia and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. Some have called for her expulsion from Congress while Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) demanded an ethics investigation into Omar’s “appalling, Somalia-first comments.”
According to the interpretation in Greene’s censure resolution, Omar spoke about telling people how “the U.S. Government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia.”
Omar added, according to Greene’s resolution, “For as long as I am in the U.S. Congress, Somalia will never be in danger, its waters will not be stolen by Ethiopia or others. Sleep in comfort knowing I am here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the U.S. system.”
Omar insisted a viral video with a similar translation of her remarks was “completely off.” The Democrat also reposted on X a different translation of her speech published by Somalia analyst Abdirashid Hashi.
A professional translation obtained by The Daily Wire differed from the one put forward in the viral video, but confirmed the overall sentiment that she views promoting the needs of Somalia as a top priority for her congressional office. Omar clearly signaled that she is working in Congress to protect Somalia and make sure that “Somalia will never be in danger.”
“As long as I am in the U.S. Congress, no one will take a way in the Somali sea or water,” Omar said, according to the translation. “And I will not support the U.S. government in supporting other people to rob us. Rest assured that it will not happen, Minnesota. The lady that you sent to Congress knows about you, and she feels your interest like you all do.”
Throughout history, 27 members have been successfully censured, which is a formal rebuke and a less severe form of punishment than expulsion, though there has been an uptick of late. House members who were censured last year included Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
Just before Greene introduced her censure resolution, Omar told The Hill, “I have nothing to say about the insanity of that woman.” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called out what he described as a “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us.”