Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has revealed that the GOP now has enough votes to remove radical Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The news was revealed by CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju, who asked McCarthy whether Republicans have enough votes to keep Omar off the committee.
“Yes,” McCarthy reportedly told Raju in response.
“Yes,” Speaker McCarthy told me they will have enough votes to oust Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 31, 2023
Before McCarthy secured the speakership, he vowed to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
He also pledged to remove Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from the House Intelligence Committee.
The speaker made good on a piece of his pledge last month when he formally removed Schiff and Swalwell from their powerful roles on the Intel Committee.
However, McCarthy has faced opposition as he’s tried to move forward with his attempt to oust Omar.
Several House Republicans have expressed concern over due process and the precedent it would set.
With a thin five-vote majority, just a handful of House Republicans could block McCarthy’s efforts to remove Omar.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is among the high-profile Republicans to express concern about McCarthy’s move.
Additionally, Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) all publicly opposed the decision to remove Omar.
House Republicans are also down one vote as Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) recovers from an accident.
On Tuesday, however, Spartz changed her tune and agreed to support the resolution to remove Omar from the committee.
Spartz’s change of heart came after McCarthy included language in the resolution to remove Omar that would allow members to appeal their removals from committees.
“As to my fellow conservatives, I think setting a precedent of allowing an appeal process for the Speaker’s and majority-party removal decisions is particularly important to freedom-loving legislators who usually are on the receiving end of issues like this,” Spartz said in a statement declaring her support of the resolution.
GOP leaders flip Victoria Spartz who will now back resolution to oust Ilhan Omar from House Foreign Affairs after they agree to include language allowing her to appeal to House Ethics. GOP leaders believe they will get the votes. pic.twitter.com/hStEvQ6mhe
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 31, 2023
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) also told Axios Tuesday that Republicans have now secured enough votes to remove Omar.
McCarthy is seeking to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee due to her history of antiemetic rhetoric.
As the resolution states:
Whereas on February 10, 2019, Representative Ilhan Omar suggested that Jewish people and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) were buying political support, saying, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” leading to condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike for her use of an anti-Semitic trope;
Tuesday’s House Rules Committee meeting on the resolution to remove Omar is reportedly being held under “emergency,” procedures, according to Raju.
The move would allow the committee to “move in an expedited fashion,” Raju added.
“It’s the first time they’ve done so this year.”
House Rules Committee meeting to take up a resolution to remove Ilhan Omar from House Foreign Affairs is being held under "emergency" procedures, allowing the panel to move in an expedited fashion. It's the first time they've done so this year.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 31, 2023
The vote on the resolution to remove Omar from her committee post could take place as soon as this week, Axios reports.
