Kevin McCarthy vows to remove Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs committee if GOP retakes the House

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested on Tuesday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should "strip" Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of her House Foreign Affairs Committee assignment, following the Minnesota representative's controversial comments comparing war crimes committed by the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban, Politico reports. Omar has since clarified her remarks, which were made last week.

"I think Nancy Pelosi should remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee," said McCarthy to Fox & Friends in a Tuesday morning interview. He argued that Omar has "not once, but on numerous occasions been anti-Semitic," writes Politico.

McCarthy "stopped short" of threatening a vote to censure Omar or remove her from the committee, but he did warn that Republicans could kick her off later — if they retake control of the House next year, per Politico.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

"I will promise you this," McCarthy said, "If we are fortunate enough to have the majority, Omar would not be serving on Foreign Affairs, or anybody that has an anti-Semitic, anti-American view. That is not productive, and that is not right."

Notably, an incendiary member of McCarthy's caucus — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — has been embroiled in an anti-Semitic controversy of her own, likening face mask mandates to the Holocaust. She apologized on Monday, amid reports of an expected censure resolution, writes CNN.

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) is reportedly leading an effort to censure Omar, as well, writes NBC. Republican leadership is expected to further discuss the Minnesota representative at a GOP conference meeting on Tuesday. Read more at Politico and NBC.