
Rep. Ilhan Omar, center, has been a strongly progressive voice on foreign policy. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.
Democrats, including several Jewish members, oppose the move while highlighting past violent statements of Republicans Greene and Gosar
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted along party lines Thursday to remove Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee for past anti-Semitic statements.
The removal, the first for a Democrat during this session of Congress, followed Democrats’ vote to strip two Republicans of all their committee assignments last Congress for making threats against fellow lawmakers.
The vote in the majority-Republican House to kick Omar off the panel was 218-211, with Ohio GOP Rep. David Joyce voting present. The North Carolina delegation divided 7-7, with all members voting along party lines.
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, who is Jewish, opposed the resolution, saying that Omar has learned from the outcry to her prior anti-Semitic statements and that “atonement should be rewarded.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Rep. Omar and I regularly disagree on policy, both domestic and foreign. And she has at times used words that have caused concern, offense and even personal pain to me and others,” Phillips said. “She and I have spoken face-to-face on those occasions, and she has apologized, and she has learned from those missteps.”
Phillips predicted that most Jewish members of the U.S. House would vote to keep Omar on the Foreign Affairs Committee because of her willingness to listen to her colleagues. He also sharply criticized Republicans for attempting to silence or “cancel” her, calling it ironic.
“This is the very weaponization of anti-Semitism that I, as a Jewish person, find repulsive, I find dangerous and above (all) else shameful,” he said. “To my friends across the aisle, if you really are sincere about defeating anti-Semitism in America, how about, ask us what we need. And let me assure you, you might be surprised by the answer.” Read more