Representative Ilhan Omar Removed from House Committee

By Peri Newman ‘24
    The Republican-led House of Representatives voted to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Many asserted that Omar should not serve on the committee because of past statements about Israel that some deemed to be antisemitic. 

Democrats also attempted to push out Omar in order to hold her accountable for her remarks. 
Before the vote on removing Omar from the committee, Omar said, “My leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term. My voice will get louder and stronger…So take your vote or not -- I am here to stay, and I am here to be a voice against harms around the world and advocate for a better world.”
GOP members continued to criticize Omar’s antisemitic comments. Representative Michael Guest (R-OH) said that no one person has the right to make remarks such as Omar’s while serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) agreed, saying, “This is about consistency and accountability. Because we should not have those views on the committee.”
“It is less her belief system in regards to Israel and the Jewish people, yet the effect of these words to her supporters and the validation it will give to fuel hate,” said junior Eliana Finkel. 
However, several Jewish Democrats, like Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), support Omar despite her criticism of Israel and antisemitic comments. Schakowsky said,“I stand before you as a proud Jew and a proud friend and colleague of Ilhan Omar." 
The House Rules Committee voted 9-4 to proceed with a resolution to effectively obstruct Omar from the panel and remove her, with Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) introducing the motion to vote on and pass the resolution. 
“I’m not saying she can’t have committees, but to sit on Foreign Affairs, I worry about … what the rest of the world looks at, every single word that is said there,” said Speaker McCarthy. (R-CA) “I'm worried about predetermining what she believes in that situation. She admitted herself, she didn't even know referring to financial money, dollars, was a trope for those who happen to be Jewish.”
Omar, however, argued that Speaker McCarthy’s effort to remove her from the committee was politically motivated. Omar had tweeted out a photo of bracelets she wore during the vote that stated, “God bless whoever hating on me.” Still conversation continues to progress about the motive behind Omar’s words and the reasons for removing a member from a congressional committee.