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Republicans voted Thursday to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, marking the latest step in the GOP’s vindictive, racist targeting of one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress in U.S. history.
The move caps off a retributive vow Speaker Kevin McCarthy and fellow Republicans made in 2021 to oust multiple Democrats from committees after two Republicans were stripped of their committee assignments for sharing social media posts that depicted or encouraged violence against other U.S. officials.
In a House floor speech ahead of the vote Thursday, Omar accused Republicans of targeting her for being a Muslim immigrant from Africa and vowed not to be silenced by conservatives.
"Is anyone surprised that I'm being targeted?" Omar said. "Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy? Or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced? Frankly, it is expected, because when you push power, power pushes back."
Republicans have continued to whine about Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar losing their committee assignments, and the baseless conspiracy theories about Omar never ceased.
On Wednesday night’s episode of "The ReidOut," Omar laid out the GOP’s pattern of targeting her with bigoted claims alleging she was a danger to the U.S. both before and after she was sworn in.
Watch a clip of the interview here:
The conceit behind this particular effort to boot Omar from a powerful position in Congress seems clear. Republicans are trying to use the legitimacy House leadership ordinarily implies to veil their bigotry. Unfortunately for them, the internet exists. And their documented, overt racism toward Omar is available for all to see.