Booted from Foreign Affairs, IIhan Omar lands in another powerful House Committee

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, USA -  Minnesota 5th District representative Ilhan Omar has yet again landed in a powerful committee, just months after she was hounded out of the Foreign Affairs Committee following the full control of the House of Representatives by the Republicans.

Serving her third term in the House, Ms. Omar, who was born in Somalia, has been a fierce critic of the Republican Party, which she accuses of promoting Islamophobia.

In return, the Grand Old Party claims Ms. Omar is anti-Semitic, allegations she has constantly denied. And now, the House Democrats have recruited her to the House Budget Committee where she will also serve as the Vice Chair according to reports. Ms. Omar is also the deputy chair of the Progressive Caucus, a reformist movement within the Democratic party.

“I am thrilled to be voted in as Vice-Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee by my [Democratic] colleagues,” Omar said in a statement. “It is more important than ever to fight for a future budget that invests in universal health care, debt-free higher education, and tackles the climate crisis — and that change starts with the House Budget Committee.”

An aide to House Budget ranking member Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., confirmed Omar's new assignment. The committee sets spending levels that guide appropriation bills that guide America's fiscal discipline, besides offering oversight.

House Budget Chairman Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas, has said he intends to write a budget for the coming fiscal year, but he has yet to produce one. And Omar, as part of the minority party, would have little influence over that GOP-crafted blueprint.

Last year's midterms saw the Democrats lose control of the House 218-211 after hotly contested polls. After the reconstitution of the House, Omar was hounded out of the powerful foreign committee which significantly buoyed her exploits in America's politics.

In the four months since her ouster, Omar has gained more clout with foreign embassies, visiting parliamentarians, the Biden administration, and Democratic lawmakers than she had managed in four years on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It’s been actually fascinating,” Omar said in a recent interview. “Since I was removed from the committee, I think I’ve had more visits from parliamentarians around the world and visits with ambassadors in the last three months than I would in a year or two while I was on the committee.

While serving in Foreign Relations, Ms. Omar became a major critic of former President Donald Trump and would become an integral figure in the US's Foreign Policy. Her removal from the committee was widely condemned by those in government and members of civil society.

GAROWE ONLINE