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The GOP booted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) off the House Foreign Relations committee last week, citing controversial comments she’d made in the past about Israel. Back in 2019, the Somali-born Democrat tweeted about the outsized influence pro-Israel lobbying groups had on U.S. politics. Two days earlier, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) removed two California Democrats, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), from the House Intelligence Committee. McCarthy denied the moves were a “tit-for-tat” against Democrats for ousting Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) two years ago from their committee assignments.
Straight Arrow News contributor Ben Weingarten says this is the right move because Omar is a “uniquely repugnant figure” with anti-American and anti-Western views.
In researching my book, I also came to learn that Somali-Americans in her [Omar’s] congressional district claimed they faced threats to life and limb from Omar-tied goons for speaking out about her. One source, whom I met, would only do so in public locations where there was visible security, for the source’s safety. Were we talking about a mob boss or a congresswoman here?
Omar also constantly evaded scrutiny and gave contradictory accounts when questioned about her background and conduct. Ever the cry bully, she has repeatedly called those, including myself, who dared to confront her with legitimate inquiries, bigots – engaging in total projection. Put it all together and you have a figure totally compromised based on open source materials alone – so much so it would be unthinkable to put that person in any position in the U.S. government, let alone one touching on national security, where devotion to country and character are of the utmost importance.
But elected officials don’t have to pass a background check to get a security clearance. Only the voters vet them. They have failed to do so by electing Omar to Congress twice. And when Democrats put her on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, they compounded that failure, imperiling us all. That her rhetoric and policies have proven consistent with her anti-American allies and supporters was entirely predictable. The House therefore is a better place today with Omar booted from the Foreign Affairs Committee. And that it condemned Omar by name, and condemned her vile rhetoric specifically, rectifies a great wrong done four years ago by House Democrats, who, in March 2019, protected Omar from censure for her anti-Semitic hatred, in watering down a resolution that originally would have called it out, but instead, under pressure from progressives, condemned anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, and anti-minority bigotry generally. Still, the issues I detailed in American Ingrate about Omar remain.
Law enforcement has seemed unwilling to pursue an investigation into the congresswoman on the merits, while it undertakes all manner of politically charged investigations into other officials.
Omar’s constituents have again refused to punish her by throwing her out of office. So House Republicans have done maybe the next best thing by beginning the process of stripping her of her power by removing her from the Foreign Affairs Committee. They should dig even deeper into Omar’s background to determine if still further action is merited.
