By Phil Shiver
House Republican lawmakers are seeking to oust controversial progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from her committee assignments, Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported Tuesday night. The move is reportedly in direct response to a measure first pushed by Democrats in the chamber to remove newly elected Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) from her assignment on the Education and Labor Committee.
Ever since her election in November, Greene has raised eyebrows and drawn ire from Democrats — and even some Republicans — in Congress over past controversial social media posts and alleged support of the QAnon conspiracy theory movement.
This week, in order to reprimand her as well as to show disapproval to House Republican leadership, Democrats have drawn up a resolution that would strip Greene of her committee assignments. The measure is expected to be considered and debated Wednesday.
But on Tuesday, a group of Republicans filed an amendment to that resolution that would also remove Omar from her assignments "in light of conduct she has exhibited." While in Congress, Omar has served on the Budget, Foreign Affairs, and Education and Labor Committees.
The amendment was reportedly sponsored by Reps. Brian Babin (R-Texas), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Ronny Jackson (R-Texas).
According to Pergram, in the amendment, the group cited Omar's frequent anti-Semitic comments as grounds for dismissal.
Omar, a member of the "Squad" — a progressive cohort of House lawmakers that includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — has frequently come under fire for incendiary statements about Israel and has been scrutinized for her support of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement.
In 2019, Omar drew bipartisan backlash after alleging in a tweet that the Republican Party's near-unanimous support for the nation of Israel is "all about the Benjamins."
But the controversy surrounding Omar goes well beyond her alleged anti-Semitism. Journalist David Steinberg has been covering Omar for the better part of the year and claims to have uncovered a litany of crimes committed by the Minnesota lawmaker, ranging from election fraud to tax fraud to perjury.
Last summer, he told BlazeTV host Glenn Beck, "Essentially, almost everything she put her name on for eight years was perjury or fraud. And it all adds up to likely the most extensive spree of state and federal felonies by an elected congressperson in U.S. history. I really have no other way to put it."
Most recently, it was reported that Omar funneled $2.7 million into her new husband's political consulting firm during the 2019-2020 election cycle.
Author: Phil Shiver