House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), will press forward with a privileged resolution to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee following remarks she made appearing to compare the United States and Israel to terrorist regimes, Hamas and the Taliban — but Democrats say they will not take action against Omar.
As The Daily Wire reported Sunday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to condemn Omar for her remarks, calling Omar a “valued” member of the Democratic caucus, and insisting that a statement Pelosi made last week on Omar’s comments was not a “rebuke,” but rather a message of “thanks” for a “clarification” Omar issued late Thursday.
“We did not rebuke her,” Pelosi said. “We thanked — acknowledged that she made a clarification.”
Last week, Omar wrote, in a tweet, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.” She later said that she was referencing cases before the International Criminal Court while in conversation with Secretary of State Antony Bliken, but did not point to specific examples of American and Israeli “atrocities” or “crimes against humanity.”
According to Punchbowl news, Rep. McCarthy is expected to fast-track a motion to remove Omar from her committee assignment, similar to what Democrats did with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) following her own controversial remarks. The motion is marked as “privileged” putting it ahead of other House business.
🚨NEWS in @PunchbowlNews AM. @GOPLeader likely to move to strip @IlhanMN of committee assignments. https://t.co/BCUdPX8qbO pic.twitter.com/qz3FHZQQJW
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 14, 2021
Eight Republicans sent a letter to Pelosi late last week, according to Fox News, demanding the Speaker take her own action against the Minnesota Democrat, reminding Pelosi that “it is the responsibility of the party’s leadership in the House of Representatives to hold accountable egregious words and actions made by Members of the Party.”
“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has made a congressional career out of the following: Fueling anti-Semitic violence against Jewish communities by perpetuating false stereotypes and anti-Semitic tropes; denigrating strategic allies of the United States; accusing members of Congress of unconstitutionally pleading allegiance to a foreign sovereign because of their support of the U.S.-Israel partnership; whitewashing the September 11 terrorist attacks that resulted in the death of over 3,000 innocent Americans, and drawing [an] equivalence between the United States and criminal organizations such as Hamas and the Taliban—both of which have been deemed by the Department of State as terrorist organizations,” they wrote.
Republicans have also pressed forward with a separate resolution pushing censure against Omar and other members of the “Squad” that rushed to her defense, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who accused Pelosi of “policing women of color.”
Democrats appear to be concerned, however, with policing internal conflict instead. After “clarifying” her remarks about Israel, the United States, and “terrorist” activities, Omar lashed out at Jewish Democrats who broke with party leadership and condemned her remarks, and members of the “Squad” quickly followed suit.
Omar accused her colleagues of “harassment” and “Islamophobia.” Ocasio-Cortez accused the group of “constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN” and Tlaib tweeted that “Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”
The harsh words prompted Pelosi to try to appear neutral on the issue on Sunday, it seems, but Monday’s Republican moves may prompt more ire.