Ilhan Omar Calls Committee Removal 'Dangerous' as GOP Close to Booting Her

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called House Republicans' attempts at ousting her from the Foreign Affairs Committee, with the claim that she's working to undermine the U.S.-Israel relationships, "dangerous."

In a tweet published on Twitter on Thursday, Omar wrote: "This is a dangerous argument that members must reject. We can't go down this road."

She added: "No member of Congress should be removed from committee because of accusations of undermining a relationship with a foreign country. Members must maintain their independence on policy issues."

Omar's comments followed reports that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy now has enough votes to remove the Minnesota congresswoman from the committee, despite opposition and hesitation from several Republicans in the chamber.

Indiana congresswoman Victoria Spartz was among the House Republicans initially opposed to removing Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee, saying that the initiative lacked "proper due process." On Wednesday, she declared she was ready to support the resolution after McCarthy added "due process language" to it.

Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Ken Buck of Colorado said they would oppose ousting Omar, but McCarthy said the resolution will "have enough votes" regardless of the narrow majority enjoyed by the GOP in the House. Democrats have condemned the resolution and are expected to vote against it. The vote is expected to take place on Thursday.

McCarthy is relying on emergency procedures to quickly remove the Somalia-born Muslim Democrat, who has been accused of making antisemitic comments, made between 2019 and 2021, against Israel and pro-Israel lobbying groups in the U.S.

Omar has since apologized for the comments, which she said she had come to understand reflected well-worn antisemitic tropes.

On January 29, the congresswoman told CNN that the antisemitism allegations against her made by Republicans were "politically motivated, and in some cases motivated by the fact that many of these members don't believe a Muslim refugee, an African, should even be in Congress, let alone have the opportunity to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee."

The resolution proposed by House Republican Max Miller of Ohio to remove Omar from the committee says that "Omar's comments have brought dishonor to the House of Representatives."

McCarthy, who had pledged in 2022 to remove Omar from the committee if Republicans won control of the House, has already blocked the reappointments to their committees of two Democrats, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California.

Meanwhile, Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who were both barred from covering any committee role for the past two years because of their controversial views and online activities, were given committee assignments in the new GOP-led Congress.

Newsweek has contacted Omar for comment.