House responds to GOP’s Boebert with Islamophobia bill

By LISA MASCARO
AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has delivered its first formal response to Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert’s anti-Muslim remarks by passing a bill to tackle Islamophobia worldwide. Tuesday’s vote comes weeks after Boebert cracked an Islamophobic joke about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim. It wasn’t the first time Boebert, a Colorado conservative, derided Omar of Minnesota. And it shows the state of the Republican Party led by Donald Trump, who often spoke coarsely about minority groups. Democratic leaders refrained from more punitive measures, saying Republican leaders should handle it, but that appears unlikely. The bill would establish a State Department position to combat Islamophobia.