Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) is the latest Republican congressman to oppose Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) proposal by saying he is against preventing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
We shouldn’t participate in this “tit for tat,” Buck said to NBC on Friday. “I oppose removing Congresswoman Omar from committees,” you say.
Buck’s resistance might cause problems for McCarthy, who has long threatened to kick Omar off that committee and prevent Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from joining the House Intelligence Committee.
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McCarthy formally removed Schiff and Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee earlier this week, but the Foreign Affairs panel’s assignments require approval from the entire House.
Because the intelligence committee is a little bit different than a regular committee, Buck said, “I have a little less certainty about Congressman Schiff and Swalwell on Intelligence, but I’m going to look through it and make a choice.”
Republicans argue that Omar should be removed from the committee because of her prior remarks, which they claim border on antisemitism. However, it is also perceived as retaliation for Democrats’ removal of Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) from committees in 2021, as well as their opposition to McCarthy’s selections for the select committee that looked into the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
McCarthy will only be able to muster a small number of votes in the thin House majority to keep her off the panel, and the strong opposition suggests he may find it difficult to do so.
This week, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) likewise expressed her opposition to expelling Omar.
Two wrongs do not equal a right, according to Spartz’s argument. “I will not support this sham again. Two years ago, I spoke against it on the House floor.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has voiced her criticism of the plan but is hesitant about ousting Omar.
Mace told reporters on Wednesday morning, “I’m not going to be a hypocrite just because Republicans are now in power.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has not yet said how he will vote and emphasized that there is still no official resolution on Omar’s expulsion, while Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) also stated this week that he is unsure whether to remove Omar.
However, certain Democrats who have not yet indicated whether they will support or oppose the removal of Omar have complicated the equation further.
According to Jewish Insider, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), and Lois Frankel (D-FL) either declined to speak on the subject or hadn’t made up their minds. Moskowitz stated he will make a decision when the matter is brought up on the floor, while Gottheimer stated he will wait for the resolution wording before reacting.
The Republican National Committee moved through on a separate reprimand on Friday, despite reservations from several House Republicans about disciplining Omar. White nationalist Nick Fuentes, rapper Ye, and Omar were all specifically mentioned in a resolution against anti-Semitism that was adopted at the RNC’s winter conference.
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