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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Somali Immigrant and Former Refugee, Booted Out of House Foreign Affairs Committee, Goes Down Fighting

Maurice O. Ndole

US House of Representatives Voted to Boot Ilhan Omar from Committee Assignment.

Republicans who looked the other way when former President Donald Trump hosted Nick Fuentes, an openly anti-semitic guest, and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his Mar-a-Lago resort residence, yesterday booted Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from her Foreign Affairs Committee assignment over a 2019 comment many perceived to be anti-semitic.

In a vindictive move, Republicans in the US House of Representatives voted to boot Omar, a former refugee and an immigrant from Somalia, in a 218 to 211 vote along party lines.

Unlike Trump, who never apologizes, Omar apologized for the comments, but that did not stop the GOP from going after her, in a move widely seen as revenge for Democrats booting Representatives Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Paul Gosar for their connections to White Supremacists. 

But Omar did not go quietly. She took a defiant tone in her impassioned defense and sounded emboldened. 

“I’m an American,” Omar said. “An American who was sent here by her constituents to represent them in Congress,” she said. “A refugee who survived the horrors of a civil war. Someone who spent her childhood in a refugee camp. Someone who knows what it means to have a shot at a better life here in the United States. And someone who believes in the American dream and the American possibility and the promise and the ability to participate in the democratic process.”

The Guardian reported that some GOP legislators were overheard saying the move to boot Omar was the stupidest vote. 

Omar ended her speech on the House floor emboldened. 

“The 9-year-old, me would be disappointed if I did not talk about the victims of conflict. Those that are experiencing unjust wars, atrocities, ethnic cleansing, occupation, or displacement like I did. They are looking to the international community and the United States, asking for help,” Omar said. 

Omar said the GOP move to vote her out of the Committee would not silence her.

“I didn’t come to Congress to be silent. I came to Congress to be their voice. And my leadership and voice would not be diminished if I’m not on this Committee for one term. My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world as it has been. So take your vote or not, but I’m here to stay, and I’m here to be a voice against harms around the world and advocate for a better world.”

The vote passed 218-211, but The Guardian reported that several GOP legislators regretted the vote and were heard calling it the stupidest vote. 

Here’s Omar’s speech posted on her Twitter Account.

New York Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), and Omar’s ally in The Squad, a group of four progressive Democrats, defended Omar in a fiery floor speech, where she was literally bouncing in front of the mic from rage. She called out Republicans for their hypocrisy. 

“I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life,” AOC said. “And the Republican caucus rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments. Don’t tell me this is about consistency. Don’t tell me this is about a condemnation of antisemitic remarks when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers… and you have also elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments in this body. 

“This is about targetting women of color. Because I did not get a single apology when my life was threatened.” AOC said.

Here’s the video of her comments posted on her Twitter account. 

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