In response to protests from Democrats and activists, House Republicans took action this week to set up a vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. The vote is scheduled for Thursday.
A resolution titled “Removing a certain Member from a specific Standing Committee of the House” was introduced on Wednesday, citing instances in which Omar is said to have made offensive remarks, including anti-Semitic ones. Prior to that, on Tuesday night, the House Republicans were successful in getting a vote to submit the resolution to remove her to the House floor, which was decided 9-4 along party lines.
According to The Hill, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reportedly said, “Oh, so now we can vote her off.” We’ll still have enough votes, despite the tragic absence of certain members due to family obligations.
McCarthy has put a lot of effort into getting the votes necessary to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee in recent days. He thought he had enough support this week after meeting with several Republican lawmakers who had been debating whether to support him.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has threatened to demote Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has allowed her to question influential figures about foreign policy and human rights, for the past few months, even before assuming his current position.
Omar’s removal from the committee was primarily justified by tweets deemed to be “anti-Semitic.” McCarthy and Congresswoman Marjorie Talyor Greene, however, have arguably said things that are more overtly anti-Semitic, such as Greene’s claim that Jewish space lasers are to blame for the California wildfires.
Many Democrats think Omar is being targeted because she is a Muslim refugee from Africa and a woman. They also think she is being targeted because she holds influential people responsible for global policy.
Advocates for human rights and activists are expected to gather in front of the Capitol at noon on Thursday as a result of the debate. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Emgage Action, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the National Iranian American Council, and the Poligon Education Fund will hold a press conference alongside the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
