Don Bacon Introduces Resolution to Censure Ilhan Omar

Ms. Omar, who has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since January 2019, has a history of anti-Semitism—which the resolution covers.
Don Bacon Introduces Resolution to Censure Ilhan Omar
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks during a press conference in Washington on Sept. 29, 2022. Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Jackson Richman
Updated:

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) announced on May 7 that he will introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over recent remarks calling some Jewish students “pro-genocide.”

The resolution, obtained by The Epoch Times, is not privileged and will not force a House vote.

Whether House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will put the resolution to a vote is to be determined.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Mr. Johnson’s office.

The measure aims at inflammatory comments made by Ms. Omar, a progressive who has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since January 2019, who has drawn scrutiny over the years for remarks described as anti-Semitic.

On April 26, during a visit to a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, which her daughter attends, Ms. Omar said: “We should not have to tolerate anti-Semitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”

Mr. Bacon’s resolution alleges that Ms. Omar’s “slanderous comments against Jewish students could inflame violence against the Jewish community.”

The resolution, it states, is meant to censure Ms. Omar “for her comments targeting Jewish students in the United States.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Ms. Omar’s office for comment on the resolution.

Ms. Omar, a member of the far-left Congressional group called “The Squad,” was removed last year from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a party-line vote over past comments that had been rebuked by both parties as anti-Semitic.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution in February to censure Ms. Omar for allegedly pledging her allegiance to Somalia in a recent speech, although the initial translation of the speech has been disputed.

The measure has not been voted on.

In 2019, Ms. Omar posted in a now-deleted tweet that U.S. lawmaker support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins, baby,” evoking an anti-Semitic trope that Israel pays lawmakers to support the Jewish state. She later apologized.

In June 2021, Ms. Omar appeared to equate the United States and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas, the latter of which is a U.S.-designated terrorist group.

“We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the United States, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban,” Ms. Omar posted on X.

She subsequently sought to clarify her tweet, saying the remarks were about “accountability for specific incidents regarding those [International Criminal Court] investigations cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.”

In response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, resulting in the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Ms. Omar called for an end to U.S. military assistance to Israel, which totals $3.8 billion annually. Of that, $3.3 billion is military aid.

Jackson Richman
Jackson Richman
Author
Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.
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