Democratic Party Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, known for her frequent anti-India tirade, has been voted out of the high-profile foreign affairs committee by the Republican-majority House of Representatives.
The House voted to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee with 218 to 211 votes on the party lines. We just do not believe when it comes to foreign affairs, especially the responsibility of that position around the world with the comments that you make. She (Illhan Omar) shouldn't serve there, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after the vote Thursday.
Republicans, who command a slim majority in the House, moved to strip Omar of the seat late Tuesday with the resolution against her after several holdouts signalled their support. The resolution against Omar was proposed by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former official in the Trump administration.
Omar was removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee over comments she has made critical of Israel and as payback after Democrats booted far-right Republicans from panels for incendiary, violent remarks.
She later apologized for the remarks and said on Sunday that “I might have used words at the time that I didn’t understand were trafficking in antisemitism.”
The White House condemned the ouster, describing it as unjust. The way that we see this, it's a political stunt, much like House Republicans' unjust removal of other leading Democrats from key committees in recent weeks. It is a disservice to the American people, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily news conference.
Omar, 40, is the third Muslim lawmaker in the US House of Representatives. She arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, is the only African-born member of Congress, representing Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2018. Over the past few years, she has engaged herself in anti-India tirade both inside and outside the House. She has also been a fierce critic of Israel and the Jewish lobby.
Ilhan Omar is born in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the youngest of seven children. At the age of 12, she and her family move to America and became a US citizen after 5 years. In 2011, Ilhan graduated with a degree in Political Science and International Studies from North Dakota State University.
In support of Pakistan, she made a visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in April 2022, which was opposed by India. In July, she introduced a resolution to condemning human rights violations in India, specifically those targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities.
She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa subcommittee.
Shortly after the vote, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made a countermove, announcing that he intends to appoint Omar to a seat on the Budget Committee "where she will defend Democratic values against right-wing extremism.
In an emotional speech on the House floor, Omar said she was not surprised. Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced? Frankly it is expected because when you push power, power pushes back, she said.
"Well, I am a Muslim. I am an immigrant. And, interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I am a target? Is anyone surprised I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy? Or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced? Frankly that is expected. Because when you push power pushes back," she said on the House floor.
Democratic colleagues hugged and embraced as she was being voted out. "My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world," Omar said in a closing speech.
Omar told CNN in an interview Sunday that the move against her is "politically motivated." "It's motivated by the fact that many of these members don't believe a Muslim, a refugee, an African should even be in Congress, let alone have the opportunity to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee,” she said.
"So what is the work of the Foreign Affairs Committee? It’s not to cosign the stated foreign policy of whatever administration is in power. It’s oversight, it’s to critique and to advocate for a better path forward. But most importantly, it’s to make the myth that American foreign policy is intrinsically moral a reality," she clarifies.