AOC delivers 'impassioned' speech in defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar on the House floor

On Thursday, Republicans voted to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing antisemitism because of her criticism of Israel. In response, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) delivered an "impassioned speech" on the House floor decrying the decision.
"There is nothing consistent about the Republican Party's continued attack except for racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body," said Ocasio-Cortez, alleging discrimination against Muslim-Americans.
"Don't tell me this is about a condemnation of antisemitic remarks when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers and...[Republicans] elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments of this body," she continued, referring to remarks by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
AOC also referred to Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) who posted a graphic on social media depicting her being killed, only to be appointed to the Oversight and Accountability and Natural Resources committees, saying that the House "rewarded him."
She was not the only member to come to Omar's defense, writes NBC News. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) accused the House of holding Omar to a "double standard" because of her religious beliefs. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who is Jewish himself, remarked "This is the very weaponization of antisemitism that I as a Jewish person find repulsive, I find dangerous, and above else, shameful — yes, shameful."
Ocasio-Cortez emphasized, "This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from