The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been openly critical of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) comments about Israel, told CNN Tuesday evening he didn’t want to kick Omar off the committee.
“First of all, it’s not up to me, this is done by leadership,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) said. “I don’t know that that would do anything except exacerbate the situation even more. I’m looking to get rid of anti-semitism, not looking to punish anybody.”
Engel says he has not interest in kicking Omar off Foreign Affairs Committee pic.twitter.com/QUt5dLUCPS
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) March 6, 2019
Republicans have called for Omar to be removed from the prestigious House committee, but Democrats have not entertained those suggestions.
Engel condemned Omar’s remarks over the weekend when she insinuated that pro-Israel advocates have an allegiance to a foreign country, perpetuating an anti-Semitic trope about Jewish Americans’ loyalty to the U.S. Engel called Omar’s remarks a “vile anti-Semitic slur,” and he is part of the group of Democratic leaders drafting a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism.
The resolution was meant to rebuke Omar’s comments, though she isn’t named in the original draft. The vote was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, but has been delayed until Thursday.
