Controversial Democrat leader Rep. Ilhan Omar was ousted from the influential Foreign Affairs committee of the US House of Representatives on Thursday (2 February) for her anti-semitic remarks.

Omar was ousted because of her controversial tweets drawing comparisons between the United States (US) and Israel, to Hamas and the Taliban.

The decision was led by the newly elected US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of the Republican Party. The Republicans now hold a majority in Congress, and Omar was ousted in a 218-211 vote.

McCarthy said, “I’m not saying she can’t have committees… But to sit on Foreign Affairs, I worry about … the rest of the world looks at every single word that is said there.”

Omar, a representative from Minnesota, came to the United States in the 1990s as a Somali refugee. She was elected to the US Congress in 2018.

Omar has remained in controversy for her anti-India stance in the last few years, ever since she came out in support of the anti-CAA protests and questioned the abrogation of Article 370 too.

Most recently, she visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in April 2022 and met Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf head, Imran Khan. The trip was seen as tacit support for Pakistan’s illegal occupation of the region and its support for terrorism.

It drew condemnation from India and the Ministry of External Affairs called it a violation of India’s territorial integrity for “narrow political gains”. The Biden administration ended up distancing itself from the visit, calling it “unofficial and personal”.

In July 2022, she moved an anti-India resolution in the House of Representatives condemning India’s human rights record. She said that New Delhi was targeting Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits, and other minorities, and asked the US Secretary of State to designate India as a “country of particular concern”.

No such step was taken by the US government though.

The persecution of minorities in Pakistan conspicuously remained out of her sight, during her visit to Pakistan.

US Foreign Affairs Panel

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