Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) rushed to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) defense Monday, ripping Republicans for “smearing” her.
Omar is in jeopardy of being booted from her committee assignments by House Republicans over alleged antisemitic remarks she made in the past, for which she has apologized. Warren argued that Omar provides valuable insights to Congress.
ILHAN OMAR ON PREVIOUS ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS: ‘WASN’T AWARE THERE ARE TROPES ABOUT JEWS AND MONEY’
“@IlhanMN is the first African-born congressmember and the only House Foreign Affairs Committee member who’s lived in a refugee camp. It’s shameful that Republicans are trying to remove her after smearing her for years. We need her voice, values, and expertise on the Committee,” Warren tweeted.
.@IlhanMN is the first African-born congressmember and the only House Foreign Affairs Committee member who’s lived in a refugee camp. It’s shameful that Republicans are trying to remove her after smearing her for years. We need her voice, values, and expertise on the Committee. https://t.co/e1M5ajM0T4
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 30, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced last week he would block Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from serving on the House Intelligence Committee. He has also vowed to boot Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The threat is widely seen as retaliation after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) removed Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and later Paul Gosar (R-AZ) from their committee assignments during the last Congress. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) nominated Omar to the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month in spite of the threat, setting the stage for a showdown.
Some Republicans, such as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), have voiced concerns about the move to eject the Democratic trio and have signaled they will vote against it. McCarthy and his conservative backers have pointed to past remarks made by Omar they argue were antisemitic, such as a tweet from 2012 when she said, “Israel has hypnotized the world” while committing “evil doings.” Omar has since apologized.
Warren’s tweet included a clip in which Omar contended that the push to boot her is “politically motivated.”
“It’s motivated by the fact that many of these members don’t believe a Muslim, a refugee, an African should even be in Congress, let alone have the opportunity to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Omar contended in the clip.
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Omar stopped short of pointedly accusing McCarthy of racism when asked. To remove Omar and others from the committee assignments, the full House must pass a resolution agreeing to it. Given the threadbare GOP House majority of 222-213, Republicans could derail the effort.
McCarthy has reportedly held meetings with House Republicans in a bid to get them to back a resolution to boot her.
