On Thursday afternoon, the House voted to formally remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, with a vote of 218 to 211 with one "present" vote. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other Republican leaders had been confident that they had had the votes, as Matt highlighted on Wednesday night.
BREAKING: The House of Representatives votes to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee pic.twitter.com/Y4KDO5f2fk
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 2, 2023
No matter how strongly Democrats lamented the move--including and especially Rep. Omar herself, who never stopped playing the victim--the vote cannot come as a surprise. Speaker McCarthy had been promising Republicans would do as much if they took power, not only in response to Democrats previously stripping certain Republican members of all of their committee assignments, but because he had cause to do so.
Omar has been making antisemitic and other controversial remarks for years now. She was given a chance to explain herself during CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, during which she not only played the victim but gave particularly unbelievable responses that she didn't know she was being antisemitic. Townhall covered her response at length.
As a reminder, here's what was covered in the write-up of Sunday's "State of the Union" segment:
Turning to Rep. Omar, [Dana] Bash brought up "a pattern of antisemitic and other controversial statements" she's made, though she pointed out that this is "what Republicans are saying about you." Among the many examples included her view that Israel was "hypnotizing the world," that it is engaging in "apartheid" and her support for the anti-Israel BDSM movement. Not mentioned was her casual remarks about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, or how she equated the United States and Israel with Hamas, the Taliban, and Afghanistan.
While Omar admitted "yes, I might have used words at the time," she stunningly claimed she "didn't understand [they] were trafficking in antisemitism," and that she apologized and owned up to them, because "that's the kind of person that I am."
Omar went on to point out later in the segment that "I certainly did not or was not aware that the word hypnotize was a trope. I wasn't aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has a been very enlightening part of this journey." She would continue to play the victim even more so. "To insinuate that I knowingly said these things, when people have read into my comments to make it sound as if I have something against the Jewish community, is so wrong."
It's worth pointing out, though, that Omar's anti-Israel views continue to even more recently. She remains a member of the squad, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who continues to smear Israel with charges it is engaging in "apartheid" and just earlier this month claimed that it is involved in "the illegal confiscation of Palestinian property."
Further, Omar herself notably just last September abstained from voting on an amendment from Rep. August Plfuger (R-TX) in committee. "It is the further sense of Congress that anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and claims that Israel is an apartheid state should have absolutely no place in any curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority," the amendment read.
Speaking from the House floor ahead of the vote, Omar proclaimed "I didn't come to Congress to be silent," something hardly anyone would accuse her of. "I came to Congress to be their voice, and my leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term," she continued to applause and an eventual standing ovation from Democrats. "My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world as it has been," as she went on to claim.
REP. ILHAN OMAR: "My voice will get louder and stronger! My leadership will be celebrated around the world, as it has been!" pic.twitter.com/NXjhvq2F4C
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 2, 2023
The vote took place after much debate, including from unhinged fellow Democrats and fellow squad members, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who screeched "this is about targeting women of color in the United States of America!"
AOC just threw a temper tantrum on the House Floor, slamming her notebook on the podium as she finished speaking.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 2, 2023
"This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America!" pic.twitter.com/W5Bshyszdr
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) wanted us to believe that "This is just a bunch of racist gaslighting. We all know it." If we all know anything, it's that those who make it about race are the ones without any true argument.
Rep. Cori Bush: "This is just a bunch of racist gaslighting. We all know it." pic.twitter.com/NkjDB5u0Bb
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 2, 2023
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who has been arguably been the most anti-Israel of the squad members, was particularly hysterical.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib has a complete meltdown, screaming and crying over the resolution to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee. pic.twitter.com/5C4bbJnHwU
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 2, 2023
Like members of the squad, liberals in the mainstream media, especially The Washington Post's Philip Bump, as our friends at Twitchy highlighted at length, still insist that such a move too boot is based on racism and Islamophobia.
"Ilhan Omar" and "Foreign Affairs Committee" were also trending on Twitter before the vote took place and was concluded.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member