GOP leaders work to lock down votes to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee

By Lauren Fox and Clare Foran, CNN

House Republican leaders are working to lock down the votes to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the Foreign Affairs Committee after several members of their conference signaled resistance to the move.

One of those Republicans, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, said on Tuesday that she may be willing to back a resolution to oust Omar from the committee if leaders agree to include a due process provision that would allow Omar — and other members in the future — to appeal the decision to the House Ethics Committee. That is now something that leaders are weighing, according to two sources.

Such a compromise could prove to be a sweet spot for GOP leaders and a handful of Republican members who remain on the fence about a vote to oust Omar, who has been accused by some members of making antisemitic remarks in the past. Omar apologized in 2019 for her remarks, but has she has since defended some of her criticisms of Israel and some of its American allies.

In an interview after the GOP conference meeting, Spartz told CNN, “I think it will include a due process,” but she also noted that she had not seen a final resolution.

“I think it is important for us to provide those options,” Spartz said.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN after conference that she too heard there could be a due process provision included in the resolution, but she suggested she needed to see the resolution.

“Here’s the thing. This has never been done before until Democrats did it to Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Mace said. “Typically it’s the conference or the steering committee of each conference … who choose what members go on what committees. This is not a precedent we should be setting at all.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed last year that if Republicans won back the House majority, he would strip Democrats Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Omar of committee assignments, arguing that Democrats created a “new standard” when they held the majority by removing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from committees for violent rhetoric and posts.

Last week, Spartz indicated in a statement that she opposes the effort to remove the three Democratic lawmakers from committees, and referenced the action Democrats took to strip Greene and Gosar of committee assignments.

“Two wrongs do not make a right. Speaker Pelosi took unprecedented actions last Congress to remove Reps. Greene and Gosar from their committees without proper due process. Speaker McCarthy is taking unprecedented actions this Congress to deny some committee assignments to the Minority without proper due process again,” the congresswoman said.

McCarthy has the power to unilaterally block Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee because it is a select committee. Ousting Omar, however, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would require a vote of the full House of Representatives.

House GOP leadership has expressed optimism they’ll have the votes to remove Omar from the committee. But with Democrats poised to oppose the move, it would only take a handful of GOP members to defect and block McCarthy from moving forward given that Republicans control a razor-thin majority in the House.

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