It's been a bad week for the Squad, as Townhall has covered at length. Of particular note is Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who, over the weekend, gave remarks about protecting Somali interests, even though she's a member of Congress in the United States. There have been calls for action to be taken, for her to even be expelled, denaturalized, and deported, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) among those issuing such a demand. Will it happen in the rather unproductive 118th Congress? Who knows, the Republican-controlled House did oust one of its own, now former Rep. George Santos of New York.
Not only has Omar defended herself from criticism about her remarks, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) looks to be doing the same.
It’s not only slanted but completely off, but I wouldn’t expect more from these propagandists. I pray for them and for their sanity. No nation state can survive if its states start to get involved in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal… https://t.co/bmdEAN6aUH
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 28, 2024
Thursday morning, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a resolution to censure Omar. The censure is for Omar "admitting she's working as a foreign agent for a foreign country." Such a resolution must be considered early next week.
Greene also shared a video message to her official X account addressing an effort to expel and deport Omar, noting she wishes she had the votes to do so. Two-thirds is required, and Republicans just barely control the chamber.
Today, I’m introducing a Censure Resolution on Ilhan Omar for admitting she’s working as a foreign agent for a foreign country.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 1, 2024
I urge my colleagues to vote to Censure, but I wish I had the votes to expel and deport her. pic.twitter.com/yNuh2kf7Ii
"Censure," "Ilhan Omar," "Marjorie Taylor Greene," and "Deport" have been trending as a result of the congresswoman's move, including how she cheekily referred to Omar as representing Somalia before correcting herself to acknowledge she mentions Minnesota.
Greene reminded that Omar swore an oath of allegiance to the United States upon becoming a citizen, which includes renouncing allegiance to foreign powers. Members of Congress also swear oaths as well.
"Whereas these statements by Representative Omar clearly violate the oath she took as an elected member of Congress to protect the United States Constitution," Greene read from her resolution on the House floor. "Whereas Representative Omar has exhibited the treasonous tendencies George Washington warned about, and her actions must be condemned by all members of Congress who adhere to the oath they took upon assuming office and whereas by openly admitting her efforts to advance Somalia's interests, using her position as a United States representative, Representative Omar has revealed herself to be a foreign agent, acting on behalf of a foreign government," Greene also read.
The resolution also calls for Omar to present herself to the House well for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to read it aloud and for her to be removed from her position on the House Budget and Education and the Workforce Committees. She had been removed from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs after the House voted last February to do so.
🚨 BREAKING: I just introduced a resolution to censure Ilhan Omar for her treasonous statements that she is serving as a foreign agent for a foreign country. pic.twitter.com/1mI324w9uZ
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 1, 2024
Fox News' Chad Pergram highlighted the response from Jeffries, and it's pretty much exactly what you would expect. In addition to accusing Greene of not focusing on problems American people care about and lamenting divisions and a lack of working together, he also spoke about the congresswoman as "one of the ringleaders of the extreme MAGA Republicans."
B) Jeffries: But once again to bring another frivolous censure resolution designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us. Don't we have enough division in America right now? Don't we have enough challenges that we should be working together to solve?
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 1, 2024
Such defenses have been a pattern from Jeffries. This includes standing by the problematic Squad members, especially and including as it relates to their antisemitic stances following the October 7 attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel.
There's arguably nobody who has more so leaned into using the "MAGA" label to demonize one's political opponents than Jeffries. He did it ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, which resulted in his party losing control of the chamber, narrowly. That there wasn't a red wave may actually have been because people bought into the fearmongering about supposed threats to democracy that Jeffries, President Joe Biden, and even White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre engaged in, though Jean-Pierre was found to have violated the Hatch Act for her comments about "Mega MAGA Republicans."
It's also laughable that Jeffries would be the one lamenting "division" when his party demonizes political opponents as it does out of desperation to win elections, not just for 2022 but also for 2024.
Not only has Omar faced criticism this week for such a loyalty to the interests of Somalia, but there's been more trouble for the rest of the Squad. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) came under fire for posting 9/11 Truther poetry on a blog he had while he was the principal of a middle school. Then there's Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who is under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the misuse of funds for security. She, along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), were also the only members to vote against legislation barring Hamas terrorists from entering the United States. And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has defended the Hamas-linked UNRWA and insisted funding be restored to the UN agency.
The 118th Congress has been notable, and not necessarily for the best reasons. It's been unproductive in terms of legislation passed, yet there have been plenty of censures and even expulsions. Not only were Tlaib and Bowman censured last year, but so was Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Then again, the Democratic Party is full of members who are finally being held accountable for their actions worthy of condemnation.
A new precedent has been set for expulsions as well, given that Santos has not actually been convicted of a crime. Santos was expelled as he's been facing numerous charges from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, and a report had been released the month before by the House Ethics Committee.
Omar is facing a primary challenger, former Councilman Don Samuels, who certainly has plenty to highlight ahead of the August primary. Samuels announced last November he would primary the Squad member. He also ran against her for the 2022 primary race and came shockingly close, earning 48.20 percent of the vote to Omar's 50.35 percent.
