Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, is facing new calls for her removal from office and even the revocation of her U.S. citizenship following comments she made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination earlier this month.
Omar, who was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, reposted a video online that accused Kirk of denying “the genocide happening in Palestine” and spreading “racist dog whistles.” In a separate interview with broadcaster Mehdi Hasan, she described herself as “mortified” by Kirk’s murder and expressed empathy for his wife and two children, but also criticized his positions on race relations and gun rights, particularly in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in her home city of Minneapolis.
Her remarks drew immediate backlash from Republicans, who accused Omar of downplaying the tragedy and fueling political division. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), whose office is near Omar’s on Capitol Hill, introduced a resolution to censure her and remove her from House committees. That motion failed by a single vote, 214–213,
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