House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) says he supports the idea of stripping far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) of her committee assignments over her Islamophobic attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — but he wants the job of doing so to be left to Republicans.
When asked during a pre-taped Axios interview released on Sunday if he believed that Boebert, who’s repeatedly suggested Omar is a terrorist, ought to be removed from her seats on the House’s Natural Resources and Budget committees, Clyburn replied, “Yeah, but that’s [for] the Republicans to do.”
“She is a member of the Republican conference, so it’s not the Democratic Party’s responsibility to police Republicans,” the Democratic leader said.
Clyburn asserted that the “problem” is failed leadership in the House GOP conference.
“That’s why these people are running willy-nilly. Because there’s nobody providing them leadership,” he said.
Clyburn’s jab at “these people” was likely in reference to Reps. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), two other far-right trolls in the House GOP who were recently stripped of their committee assignments (and censured, in Gosar’s case) over their violent rhetoric toward certain Democrats.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is spearheading the effort by dozens of Democrats to condemn Boebert and remove her from her committee assignments. The Massachusetts lawmaker introduced the measure last Wednesday.
Pelosi has not backed Pressley’s resolution or said what other disciplinary action she may take against Boebert. “When I’m ready to announce that, I’ll let you know,” the House speaker said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
But similar to Clyburn, Pelosi emphasized last week that it’s Republicans’ “responsibility” to keep their members in check.
However, given House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) flaccid response to Greene and Gosar’s toxic behavior (in fact, he’s even promised to restore their committee assignments), it’s extremely unlikely he’ll listen to his Democratic counterparts’ calls to hold Boebert accountable.
Watch Clyburn below:
