Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been left off the hook by her party time and again.
But her latest might not even pass Democrats’ smell test.
And Ilhan Omar just got a bitter pill to swallow.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is making good on a promise to kick three Democrats off of Congressional committees for disqualifying behavior.
The move comes after Democrats stripped a handful of Republicans of those Committee assignments for dubious reasons in an unprecedented move by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during the last Congress.
Now that Republicans have regained control of the chamber, they are returning the favor for good reasons.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was one of the three Democrats who caught the ire of Republicans, in particular given criticism of her past comments for being anti-semitic.
Sudden awareness is very enlightening
During a Sunday appearance on the CNN program, State of the Union, Omar claimed, “I wasn’t aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has been a very enlightening part of this journey.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is attempting to gain enough support to eject Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a move that will require a full vote of the House.
Signs point to that goal being within reach with a procedural vote on removing Omar scheduled for Wednesday.
During the Sunday interview, host Dana Bash rattled off some of Omar’s previous remarks, including making an accusation that “Israel has hypnotized the world,” describing Israel as an “apartheid” regime, suggesting that Israel’s allies in Congress were being bought off by the Israel lobby and supporting the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
It was also pointed out that Omar once tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” a song lyric referring to $100 bills, in a response to a tweet that referenced US politicians’ deference to Israel.
“That’s the kind of person I am”
Omar replied, “Yes, I might have used words at the time that I didn’t understand were trafficking in anti-Semitism. When that was brought to my attention, I apologized. I owned up to it. That’s the kind of person that I am.” Omar added, “In some cases, the criticism is 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.”
It simply strains credibility to believe that Omar was completely unaware of her comments and how they would be perceived in the Jewish community.
It’s also hard to be sympathetic to Omar when she voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from congressional committees during the last Congress, ostensibly for comments she made before being sworn into office.
In the end, the Democrats made the very rules they are now being made to live by, and payback is a bitter pill.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
