Fox News co-host Geraldo Rivera criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday after Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, was removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Dear Rep Omar, you got a raw deal. GOP reps should be embarrassed by the actions of the Speaker and leadership. Really low brow,” Rivera said in a repost of Omar’s tweet in which she said she spoke with Representative Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, about joining the House Budget Committee.
“Just talked with @RepBrendanBoyle about being appointed to the Budget Committee this term. Budgets are a reflection of our values. Excited to push for a people-centered budget that invests in the needs of the American people,” the Democratic lawmaker wrote Friday.
Omar was removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday by a House GOP vote despite lobbying efforts from her fellow Democrats to keep her on the panel.
Dear Rep Omar, you got a raw deal. GOP reps should be embarrassed by the actions of the Speaker and leadership. Really low brow. https://t.co/HnS71F4twJ
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) February 3, 2023
Republicans have long targeted Omar for her criticism of Israel, including her past remarks in which she suggested that GOP support of Israel was funded by donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She apologized for those comments in 2019, saying, “Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.”
However, that still didn’t stop her from being stripped of her committee seat, a move McCarthy repeatedly vowed that he would do when he becomes House speaker. McCarthy, a California Republican, won the speakership after the GOP narrowly won the House majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Omar criticized Republicans before the vote for trying to remove her, saying it had less to do with her earlier statements and more to do with her status as an immigrant.
“Who gets to be an American? What opinions do you have to have to be counted as American? That is what this debate is about,” she said.
After her removal from the committee, Omar vowed that she will not be silent in Congress, and that she will continue advocating for justice.
“I will continue to speak for the families who are seeking justice around the world— whether they are displaced in refugee camps or hiding under their bed somewhere like I was,” she wrote on Facebook. “I didn’t come to Congress to be silent. I came to Congress to be their voice. My leadership and voice will not diminish if I am not on this committee for one term. My voice will only get louder and stronger. If you are with us, help us push back.”
Omar is the third Democrat to be removed from their committee role since McCarthy was elected House speaker after struggling 14 times to win enough votes to secure the speakership. Last week, Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats, were expelled from their positions on the House Intelligence Committee, a move that McCarthy previously promised he’d honor.
Swalwell has been blasted by some Republicans after a 2020 report of him being targeted by a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who was seeking to form ties with U.S. politicians came to light. The Democratic congressman hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, McCarthy targeted Schiff over his alleged support of the Steele dossier, also known as the Trump-Russia dossier, that alleged ties between former President Donald Trump and Russia.
Rivera on Thursday also pointed out how “ironic” it is that Omar was removed from her committee, while Representative George Santos, a New York Republican supported by McCarthy, was seated on the Small Business and the Science committees despite his repeated lies about his background since his election victory in November. Santos is set to step down from his roles in both committees, however, after calls for his resignation have been made.
“Ironic that Rep. Omar got tossed from her Committee on a purely partisan vote, while Serial Liar (and douche) George Santos got two plum committee postings, which he only quit to prepare his defense to his various sins. Watch Hannity tonight live,” Rivera tweeted.
Newsweek reached out to the offices of Omar and McCarthy for comment.
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