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Republican lawmaker abruptly switches course before House votes to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from committee
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Republican lawmaker abruptly switches course before House votes to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from committee

One Republican lawmaker abruptly switched course late Tuesday, announcing that she will support the effort to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

What is the background?

Last week, after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced he was booting Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee and Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.) spoke out against McCarthy.

She said:

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.

As I spoke against it on the House floor two years ago, I will not support this charade again. Speaker McCarthy needs to stop “bread and circuses” in Congress and start governing for a change.

What is she saying now?

After meeting with McCarthy, Spartz said she will support a resolution to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"I appreciate Speaker McCarthy’s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to our resolution," she said in a statement. "Deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches.

"The rule of law, freedom of speech, and due process are fundamental to our Constitutional Republic. Our founding fathers understood that pure democracy is dangerous and can lead to the tyranny of majority, mob rule and dictatorship," she said.

Spartz added that she supports "setting a precedent of allowing an appeal process," suggesting she believes removing Omar is not simply vindictive politics.

The development is significant because McCarthy cannot boot members from standing committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee. Thus, to remove Omar, a resolution on her removal must go before the House floor for a full vote.

The House is expected to take that vote on Wednesday.

With Spartz's support, the resolution will likely be approved. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.) are the only other two Republicans who have said they oppose removing Omar. That means there is majority support for Omar's removal.

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