GOP House lawmaker unveils resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar

Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska released a resolution Tuesday in an attempt to censure Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar following remarks she made about Jewish students during a visit to Columbia University last month.

The progressive lawmaker's comments at a university encampment sparked criticism from the right, with Bacon's resolution, released during the week of Holocaust Remembrance, as the latest GOP pushback.

During her visit, Omar, a vocal supporter of Palestinians, told a reporter she met Jewish students at the protest and "all Jewish kids should be kept safe." She went on to say that "we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide," a phrase that Republicans sharply criticized.

Bacon's resolution, shared with the Star Tribune, takes aim at those remarks and her "recent hateful comments and history of antisemitism."

"Representative Omar has a long and demonstrated history of hateful rhetoric that plays into the worst antisemitic tropes," the resolution reads. "Representative Omar's slanderous comments against Jewish students could inflame violence against the Jewish community."

The Republican lawmaker has not filed the resolution as a privileged motion and it's unlikely to be heard this week, Bacon's office said.

Omar's spokeswoman Jacklyn Rogers said the congresswoman "clearly condemned antisemitism and bigotry for all Jewish students."

"Attempts to misconstrue her words are meant to distract from the ongoing violence and genocide occurring in Gaza and the large antiwar protests happening across our country and around the world," she said.

Censuring a House lawmaker "registers the House's deep disapproval of Member misconduct," however it does not result in a members' expulsion. If a censure resolution is approved, a member is forced to stand in the "well of the House" while the House speaker reads the censure to the public on the House floor.

This is not the first GOP censure attempt Omar has faced. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene brought a censure motion against the congresswoman in February following mistranslated remarks in which Omar talked about her support for Somali Americans. However, that measure never received a vote.

Republicans also voted to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in February after seizing on past remarks she made as their basis from blocking her from returning to her post.

One of Omar's sharpest critics in the wake of her recent remarks has been fellow Minnesotan and GOP House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who criticized her for "encouraging violence against Jewish students" and saying the congresswoman has joined the "likes of Hamas and Iran with her endorsement of the pro-terrorist, antisemitic protests."

Omar's daughter Isra Hirsi, a student activist, was recently arrested and suspended from college for participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

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