Republican Representative Lauren Boebert queried why Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar wears a hijab in Congress if church and state are separate.
Boebert, who represents Colorado's 3rd congressional district, made the remarks on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast on Wednesday, eliciting a stinging response from Omar on Twitter.
"If there really is this separation of church and state like they believe it means, well then what is Ilhan doing with her hijab on?" Boebert said.
"Why is she able to go in there with that?" the congresswoman went on. "Why aren't they shouting that from the rooftops? Separation of church and state?"
Omar is a Muslim and the first person in Congress to wear a hijab. There had been a rule in place against headwear in the House for 181 years but the House allowed the wearing of headwear for religious or medical purposes in 2019.
Omar responded to Boebert's comments on Twitter, sharing a video clip of the Republican speaking to Bannon.
The Democrat added a well-known gif showing celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay holding two pieces of bread up to a woman's face while she tells him she's an "idiot sandwich."
Newsweek has asked the offices of Representatives Omar and Boebert for comment.
Boebert also spoke to Bannon on Wednesday about her family using food stamps when she was a child, saying she had been raised under Democrats' "failed policies."
On June 26, Boebert told a crowd at the Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt, Colorado that she was "tired" of the concept of separation of church and state.
"The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not meant to direct the church. That is not how our founding fathers intended it," Boebert said.
"And I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk, that's not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter and it means nothing like what they say it does," she said.
Boebert was referring to a famous letter on the separation of church and state written by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has long been viewed as establishing the separation of church and state, says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Omar has previously spoken about the importance that wearing a hijab has to her, telling Vogue in 2019: "To me, the hijab means power, liberation, beauty, and resistance."
She also said that if her two daughters chose not to wear the hijab, that would be "fine."
"They have freedom of choice. Society tends to place lots of limitations, depending on what gender you are. I want my kids to be free," Omar said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
