Letter to the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives - Pfluger Calls for Rep. Omar's Removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Letter

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer:

We write with a profound sense of concern in light of anti-American, antisemitic, and bigoted statements made by our colleague, Representative Ilhan Omar (MN-05). Given Representative Omar's history of engaging in this type of conduct, House Democratic leadership must take immediate and meaningful action to remove her from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. We consider anything less to be a form of complicity.

This week, Representative Omar doubled down on a truly heinous false equivalence, likening the United States and Israel to terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Taliban. Despite the slew of hateful statements made by Representative Omar in the past, her most recent comments steep to a new low. Equating genocidal extremist groups with democracies like our own is a slap in the face to all victims of terror and millions of oppressed people who have found refuge in places like the United States and Israel. While Democratic leadership has scolded Representative Omar, we are long past the point of needing "clarification".

Representative Omar's track record of hate speech precedes her days in the House, but just one month after being sworn in last Congress, she brazenly used her platform to spread antisemitism. The Congresswoman ascribed U.S. support for Israel as "all about the Benjamins," drawing bipartisan rebuke, but she unfortunately, and surprisingly, faced no actionable consequences from House Democratic leadership. Additionally, she has spewed violent anti-Israel rhetoric, minimalized the 9/11 attacks as "some people did something," and made a mockery of American concern with al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. These statements are all as detestable as they are dangerous, and House Democratic leadership must respond in kind.

Through her history of inflammatory, antisemitic, and subversive rhetoric, Representative Omar has repeatedly revealed her true beliefs which are counter to the example a Member of Congress must set. While we commend our Democratic colleagues who have criticized Representative Omar for her "deep-seating prejudice", her contention that these members engaged in harassment and use of "Islamophopic tropes" reveals both lack of contribution and the true nature of her character.

Individuals on both sides of the aisle must recognize that Representative Omar's statements are rooted in falsehood, but we cannot underestimate the impact of her vitriol. Hate crimes against minority groups have risen precipitously in the last year, and we are under no illusion that hateful rhetoric by high-profile members contributes to an environment of violence. It is imperative that House Democratic leadership act to address this matter immediately, we await your response.

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