By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House voted after raucous debate Thursday to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel feedback, in a dramatic response after Democrats final session booted far-right GOP lawmakers over incendiary remarks.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was in a position to solidify Republican assist in opposition to the Somali-born Muslim lady within the new Congress though some GOP lawmakers had expressed reservations. Removal of lawmakers from House committees was primarily unprecedented till the Democratic ousters two years in the past of hard-right Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona.
The 218-211 vote, alongside get together strains, got here after a heated, voices-raised debate through which Democrats accused the GOP of concentrating on Omar primarily based on her race. Omar defended herself on the House ground, asking if anybody was stunned she was being focused, “because when you push power, power pushes back.” Democratic colleagues hugged and embraced her through the vote.
“My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world,” Omar stated in a closing speech.
Republicans targeted on six statements Omar has made that “under the totality of the circumstances, disqualify her from serving on the Committee of Foreign Affairs,” stated Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the incoming chairman of the House Ethics 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,” Guest stated.
The decision proposed by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former official within the Trump administration, declared, “Omar’s comments have brought dishonor to the House of Representatives.”
Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries of New York stated Omar has at instances “made mistakes” and used antisemitic tropes that have been condemned by House Democrats 4 years in the past. But that’s not what Thursday’s vote was about, he stated.
“It’s not about accountability, it’s about political revenge,” Jeffries stated.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, went one step additional, saying that the GOP’s motion was one of many “disgusting legacies after 9/11,” a reference to he Sept. 11, 2001, assault — “the targeting and racism against Muslim-Americans throughout the United States of America. And this is an extension of that legacy.”
She added, “This is about targeting women of color.”
McCarthy denied the Republican transfer to oust Omar was a tit-for-tat after the Greene and Gosar removals beneath Democrats, although he had warned in late 2021 that such a response may be anticipated if Republicans received again the House majority.
“This is nothing like the last Congress,” he stated Thursday. He famous that Omar can stay on different panels, simply not Foreign Affairs after her anti-Israel feedback.
Omar is among the first two Muslim girls elected to Congress. She can be the primary to put on a hijab within the House chamber after ground guidelines have been modified to permit members to put on head coverings for spiritual causes.
She rapidly generated controversy after coming into Congress in 2019 with a pair of tweets that prompt lawmakers who supported Israel have been motivated by cash.
In the primary, she criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” she wrote, invoking slang about $100 payments.
Asked on Twitter who she although was paying members of Congress to assist Israel, Omar responded, “AIPAC!”
The feedback sparked a public rebuke from then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and different Democrats who made clear that Omar had overstepped.
She quickly apologized.
“We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me about my identity,” Omar tweeted. “This is why I unequivocally apologize.”
Democrats rallied in a fiery protection of Omar and the experiences she brings to the Congress.
Black, Latino and progressive lawmakers particularly spoke of her distinctive voice within the House and criticized Republicans for what they known as a racist assault.
“Racist gaslighting,” stated Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. A “revenge resolution,” stated Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the chair of the progressive caucus.
“It’s so painful to watch,” stated Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who joined Congress with Omar in 2019 the primary two feminine Muslims elected to the House.
“To Congresswoman Omar, I am so sorry that our country is failing you today through this chamber,” Tlaib stated by tears. “You belong on that committee.”
Omar’s earlier feedback have been amongst a number of remarks highlighted within the resolutions in search of her removing from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, argued for excluding Omar from the panel throughout a latest closed-door assembly with fellow Republicans.
“It’s just that her worldview of Israel is so diametrically opposed to the committee’s,” McCaul informed reporters in describing his stance. “I don’t mind having differences of opinion, but this goes beyond that.”
McCarthy has already blocked Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, each California Democrats, from rejoining the House Intelligence Committee as soon as the GOP took management of the chamber in January. While appointments to the intelligence panel are the prerogative of the speaker, the motion on Omar requires a House vote.
Several Republicans skeptical of eradicating Omar wished “due process” for lawmakers who face removing. McCarthy stated he informed them he would work with Democrats on making a due course of system, however acknowledged it’s nonetheless a piece in progress.
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Associated Press author Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”