Republican Home chief Kevin McCarthy guarantees to take away Muslim congresswoman from committee, sparking backlash.
Washington, DC – When Republican Home chief Kevin McCarthy talked about the identify of Muslim-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a Republican Jewish Coalition convention on the weekend, boos erupted from the group.
“That’s a rightful boo,” the congressman responded, earlier than promising to take away Omar from the Home Overseas Affairs Committee due to her criticism of Israel.
The highest Republican’s pledge has sparked an outcry from progressive and Muslim-American advocates who say the assault on Omar was unjustified. Some additionally warned it could be the tip of the iceberg in a marketing campaign that Home Republicans are getting ready in opposition to Democrats once they take management of the congressional chamber in January.
“Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress ought to come collectively to reject this cynical political assault on Rep. Omar,” Robert McCaw, director of presidency affairs on the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), mentioned in a press release.
“Members of Congress shouldn't be silenced for daring to constantly communicate out in opposition to human rights violations, whether or not dedicated by our nation’s adversaries, allies and even our personal authorities,” McCaw mentioned on Monday.
After Republicans received a slim Home majority on this month’s midterm elections, McCarthy will doubtless develop into Home speaker within the new Congress, which is able to convene on January 3, 2023.
However even earlier than moving into the bulk, high Home Republicans mentioned they may examine the enterprise dealings by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden — a problem that Democrats say is unfounded.
McCarthy additionally informed Fox Information on Sunday that he would stop Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from becoming a member of the intelligence committee.
‘Hypocritical’
However McCarthy’s assault on Omar, which follows years of incessant Republican criticism of the congresswoman, was particularly pronounced.
“Final 12 months, I promised that once I turned Speaker, I might take away Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Home Overseas Affairs Committee based mostly on her repeated anti-semitic and anti-American remarks,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “I’m maintaining that promise.”
McCaw at CAIR described McCarthy’s pledge as “past hypocritical”, noting he had mentioned he would reinstate the committee assignments of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene was kicked off congressional panels final 12 months over anti-Semitic and Islamophobic feedback.
In a blistering assertion on Monday, Omar rebuked McCarthy and accused Republicans of utilizing “concern, xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism” to focus on her since she was elected in 2018.
“McCarthy’s effort to repeatedly single me out for scorn and hatred — together with threatening to strip me from my committee — does nothing to deal with the problems our constituents take care of. It does nothing to deal with inflation, healthcare, or resolve the local weather disaster,” she mentioned.
Omar is one among three Muslims serving in Congress and one of many few vocal supporters of Palestinian rights on Capitol Hill.
As a member of the Home Overseas Affairs Committee, which helps push ahead laws and undertakes oversight of members of the US government department, she additionally has been a uncommon voice calling for diplomacy and in opposition to hawkish insurance policies.
Omar has beforehand been accused of utilizing anti-Semitic tropes after she urged that political donations from pro-Israel foyer teams, together with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), drive help for Israel in Washington.
She later apologised for that remark, however Palestinian rights advocates say accusations of anti-Semitism in opposition to Omar and others over their criticism of Israel goal to stifle the controversy round Israeli authorities insurance policies.
Progressives defend Omar
This week, a number of distinguished progressives rushed to Omar’s defence after McCarthy’s remarks.
Congresswoman Cori Bush urged McCarthy to “do higher” and expressed help for Omar. “Islamophobia, racism, spiritual discrimination & hate don't have any place within the Folks’s Home or our society,” she wrote on Twitter.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, described Omar as a “devoted” legislator and accused Republicans of weaponising “xenophobia and racism to undermine her voice”.
Many additionally rejected makes an attempt to attract an equivalence between Omar and Greene or Paul Gosar, one other far-right Republican who was formally rebuked final 12 months for sharing an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“There’s been such a coordinated effort to persuade you that progressive Black & brown girls in workplace – who serve & lead from lived experiences – are the Democratic equal of white supremacist right-wingers who persecute, marginalize & incite violence on the remainder of us. Cease it,” Congresswoman-elect Summer season Lee wrote on Twitter on Monday.
When Reps Gosar & Taylor Greene made/amplified threats to colleagues' lives, they had been rightfully stripped of committee assignments. Now @Ilhan is being threatened with committee removing regardless of no such misconduct—simply because Mr. McCarthy says so? This focusing on is unacceptable. https://t.co/Mcl8BEqwVO
— Rep. Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04) November 22, 2022
McCarthy, who as minority chief rejected the Democratic push in opposition to Greene and Gosar, had promised payback final 12 months if Republicans had been to regain management of the Home.
“You’ll remorse this. And you might remorse this lots before you suppose,” he mentioned after Democrats eliminated Greene from her committee assignments.
Past the Omar challenge, many critics have slammed Republicans’ said priorities for the following Congress, significantly investigating the Biden administration.
However Republicans say they are going to be fulfilling one of many duties of Congress by making certain oversight over the federal government.
Republicans additionally say their Democratic rivals launched numerous investigations into former President Donald Trump when he was in workplace — together with over experiences of collusion between Russia and the Trump marketing campaign, which they dismiss as a “hoax”.
McCarthy mentioned on Sunday that he would push to take away Schiff off the intelligence committee, which the Democrat at present chairs, over mendacity to the American public, with out offering particulars.
Schiff shot again, calling McCarthy a “very weak chief” catering to “the bottom widespread denominator” in his caucus. “I believe he'll do no matter Marjorie Taylor Greene desires him to do,” Schiff informed ABC Information.
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