House Republicans called on their Democratic counterparts Tuesday to name Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in the resolution they are proposing to indirectly rebuke the freshman congresswoman over her anti-Israel comments.
A spokesman for Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., told the Washington Examiner “condemning anti-Semitism shouldn’t be a partisan issue.” Budd, along with New York Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin and Elise Stefanik, have been pushing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to bring their own measure condemning anti-Semitism in Congress and on college campuses to the chamber’s floor.
“In January, the House voted on a resolution condemning white nationalism, naming Rep. Steve King specifically. In this resolution condemning anti-Semitism, Rep. Omar should be named as well,” said Chase Jennings, Budd’s communications director.
The congressman himself tweeted earlier Tuesday, denouncing Omar’s anti-Israel remarks, which many have interpreted as anti-Semitic.
I appreciate some of my Democratic colleagues who’ve spoken out against @IlhanMN‘s anti-Semitism in the past few days. She’s only been in Congress for a few months but has already made clear her disdain for the Jewish people.
— Ted Budd (@RepTedBudd) March 5, 2019
Zeldin’s spokeswoman, Katie Vincentz, agreed on behalf of the congressman that Omar should be referenced in the House Democrats’ measure. She also reiterated Zeldin’s other demand in response to Omar’s statements.
“Rep. Omar should be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Vincentz said.
Madison Anderson, a representative for Stefanik, said her boss too believed “Omar should have been expressly named.”
House Democrats will on Wednesday vote on the four-page resolution, sponsored by Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. The measure “rejects anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States,” as well as outlines the history of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews and addresses “the myth of dual loyalty.”
Omar first clashed with House Republicans last month over her views on Jewish influence in U.S. politics. But over the weekend, she feuded openly on Twitter with another House Democrat, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., after questioning whether supporters of Israel have a “dual loyalty” to both the U.S. and Israel.
King, R-Iowa, was in January the subject of a resolution of disapproval introduced by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., which noted comments he made to the New York Times that many called racist.
[Opinion: Ilhan Omar’s nonapology apology]
