Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39) today joined colleagues to write to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding that Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) be removed from her committee assignments on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Education and Labor in light of her repeated alarming, inappropriate and antisemitic comments, most recently comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.
Rep. Kim joined Reps. Carlos Gimenez (FL-26), Maria Salazar (FL-27), Fred Upton (MI-06), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) to send the letter.
The text of the letter can be found HERE or below.
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
In your own words, it is the responsibility of the party’s leadership in the House of Representatives to hold accountable egregious words and actions made by Members of the party. Now is the time for you to rise to the challenge you have set for yourself by removing Congressman Ilhan Omar from her committee assignments.
Congresswoman Omar has made a congressional career out of the following:
- Fueling anti-Semitic violence against Jewish communities by perpetuating false stereotypes and anti-Semitic tropes,
- Denigrating strategic allies of the United States,
- Accusing Members of Congress of unconstitutionally pledging allegiance to a foreign sovereign because of their support of the U.S.-Israel partnership,
- Whitewashing the September 11 terrorist attacks that resulted in the death over 3,000 innocent Americans,
- Drawing equivalence between the United States and criminal organizations such as Hamas and the Taliban, both of which have been deemed by the Department of State as terrorist organizations.
These comments and policy stances undermine the interests of the United States abroad and weakens the effectiveness of our foreign policy. Her continued involvement in her committees, including as a prominent member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cheapens the role of Congress in foreign policy decision-making. It sends a dangerous signal to our allies and our adversaries alike that the United States tolerates anti-Semitism, that we no longer believe in the long-term mission of supporting free peoples and free markets, and that we no longer remain committed to combatting acts of terror against the United States or our allies. Congresswoman Omar’s views of American foreign policy is inconsistent and incompatible with American foreign policy crafted by both Republican and Democratic presidents.
Congresswoman Omar has been given the benefit of the doubt each time she has made these controversial statements in the past. Time after time, Congresswoman Omar has delivered a hollow and meaningless apology with the sole purpose of appeasing her party’s leadership, only to revert back to her true sentiments and her real policy stances. While we are encouraged that several of our colleagues across the aisle have posed their strong rebuke of Congresswoman Omar’s comments and policy stances, the only rebuke on this issue that will have any meaningful impact in the House of Representatives is yours.
Consequently, we wholeheartedly request that you live up to your word and swiftly remove Congresswoman Omar from her committee assignments. To turn a blind eye on this would be a “cowardly refusal” to hold Members on your side of the aisle accountable and a dereliction of your role as the leader of your party and as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, an institution we all so proudly and honorably serve.
