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House Republicans Propose Removing Ilhan Omar From Committees Instead Of Greene

February 2, 2021

TOPLINE

As Democrats gear up to pass a resolution stripping controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee assignments, some right-wing Republican lawmakers are firing back with a long-shot amendment to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from her committees instead.

Democrats have given House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy until Thursday to remove Greene from the House Budget Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee, at which point they will pass a resolution to do it themselves.

The resolution, proposed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), cites Greene's "recent conduct," a reference to recently unearthed social media posts and statements made in the past in which she espoused conspiracy theories and advocated the executions of top Democrats.

But an amendment proposed by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Tex.) would replace mentions of Greene in the resolution with "Ilhan Omar," according to a copy obtained by Forbes.

The amendment is supported by a handful of right-wing GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), two of the most vocal proponents of former President Trump's election conspiracy theories, and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), who himself has embraced conspiracy theories.

The House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in 2019 after Omar said pro-Israel groups "push for allegiance to a foreign country," which lawmakers in both parties alleged was an anti-Semitic "dual loyalty" trope – though removing her from committees was never seriously discussed or considered.

"If the Democrat Majority wants to go down this road, they should start by dealing with their own members who have been at this before and AFTER their election to Congress," Babin tweeted of his amendment.

KEY BACKGROUND

Greene's placement on the Education & Labor Committee has been particularly potent given her stated belief that the Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, school shootings were false flag operations and her video-taped confrontation with a Parkland survivor. "Kevin McCarthy must explain how someone with this background represents the Republican party on education issues," Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the chair of the committee, said of Greene's assignment.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

"The Democrats' moves to strip Congresswoman Greene of her committee assignments for thoughts & opinions she shared as a private citizen before coming to the House is unprecedented and unconstitutional, & these steps are a dangerous slope for our nation," tweeted Biggs.

CHIEF CRITIC

"Get a grip on reality," tweeted Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) "Omar didn't belittle a school shooting survivor, claim that no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, insist lasers started the CA wildfires, or endorse the assassination of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives."

SURPRISING FACT

Senate Republicans were quick to distance themselves from Greene on Tuesday after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted her as a "cancer for the Republican Party." Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Greene "doesn't represent the party," while Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) slammed her as "nutty" and said there "should not be debate" about whether she belongs.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

"Of course it will fail, but shows where all this is going," John Bresnehan, co-founder of political newsletter Punchbowl News, tweeted of the amendment. It is unlikely McCarthy will heed Democrats' demands, but he called in members of the Steering Committee – which stripped Rep. Steven King (R-Iowa) of his committee assignments for statements endorsing white nationalism in 2019 – on Tuesday evening, according to CNN.