As of Feb. 2, United States Representative from Minnesota, Ilhan Omar (D) has been removed from her position within the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a partisan vote of 218-211, with almost all House Republicans voting to eject Omar, while the House Democrats voted against the move.
The reasoning for Omar’s removal from the House committee can be linked back to her Twitter statements in 2019 which were criticized for evoking antisemitic stereotypes in her remarks directed towards Israel and pro-Israel lobbyists. In 2021, Ilhan Omar was also criticized for unintentionally comparing both the United States and Israel to terrorist groups like the Taliban and Hamas in a tweet about the International Criminal Court (IRC). In both instances, Ilhan Omar apologized for both statements.
However, this case follows the precedent of when U.S. Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) were revoked of their assignments in their House committees in 2021. Gosar shared a cartoon video inciting violence against Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), while Greene herself shared conspiracy theories, has incited political violence, and has been accused of antisemitism.
As mentioned by the New York Times, as a fellow representative and “Squad” member, Ocasio-Cortez also came to the defense of Ilhan Omar, stating that the removal of Omar is motivated by prejudices against women of color rather than accountability.
According to Reuters, Gosar and Greene have reportedly been given committee assignments once again under House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s speakership in the Republican-controlled House.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also has doubts on whether the Republicans care about holding Omar accountable, when Jeffries called their vote to oust Omar, “political revenge,” in relation to the precedent set by removing Gosar and Greene in 2021.
As reported by NPR, the resolution to bar Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee was introduced by U.S. Representative from Ohio, Max Miller (R-OH), who also mentioned antisemitism as the reason for removing Ilhan Omar from the committee.
Fortunately for Ilhan Omar, Hakeem Jeffries announced that he is considering assigning Omar to the House Budget Committee to uphold the Democrats’ values against those of the Republicans and policies.
A senior political science student said, “It is most certainly revenge, and something that can be seen on ideological lines.”
