IIhan Omar accuses Trump's party of Islamophobia amid threats

WASHINGTON - Somali-born US congresswoman Ilhan Omar has accused the Grand Old Party [GOP] of Islamophobia and Xenophobia after the Donald Trump-led party vowed to kick get out of the influential Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives once they take over in January.

The Republican Party took control of the House with a razor-thin majority following the midterms which were full of disappoints after the red wave failed to materialize across the country. The party is projected to control the House by 221 members with Democrats taking 214 seats, but with Senate control.

Kevin McCarthy, the man projected to take over Republic leadership in the House and subsequently, the Speaker of the House, has already tuned his guns against Ms. Omar, who he insists must be removed from the influential committee, a move which Ms. Omar has taken a swipe at.

“From the moment I was elected, the Republican Party has made it their mission to use fear, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and racism to target me on the House Floor and through millions of dollars of campaign ads,” Omar said in a statement.

“Whether it is Marjorie Taylor Greene holding a gun next to my head in campaign ads or Donald Trump threatening to ‘send me back to my country [despite the fact that I have been a proud citizen of the United States for more than 20 years], this constant stream of hate has led to hundreds of death threats and credible plots against me and my family,” she added.

The incoming speaker, during an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News, reiterated his pledge to remove Omar, as well as Reps. Eric Swalwell [D-Calif.] and Adam Schiff [D-Calif.], from their committees. He is taking over from Nancy Pelosi.

“Congresswoman Omar, her antisemitic comments that have gone forward, we’re not going to allow her to be on Foreign Affairs,” McCarthy told host Maria Bartiromo, referring to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

For a long time, Ms. Omar has been critical of US policy on the Palestine and Israel war which has lasted for decades, where she accuses the government of failing to protect innocent civilians from Palestine.

Omar has long been critical of Israel and its actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, at times drawing a rebuke from other House Democrats. It is not automatic that McCarthy becomes speaker given that he needs 218 votes, and while GOP was doing nomination, 31 members voted against him.

“McCarthy’s effort to repeatedly single me out for scorn and hatred — including threatening to strip me from my committee — does nothing to address the issues our constituents deal with,” Omar said. “It does nothing to address inflation, health care, or solve the climate crisis.”

“What it does is gin up fear and hate against Somali Americans and anyone who shares my identity, and further divide us along racial and ethnic lines,” she added. “It is a continuation of a sustained campaign against Muslim and African voices, people his party has been trying to ban since Donald Trump first ran for office.”

GAROWE ONLINE