Category Archives: Ilhan Omar

A split among Democrats may threaten ‘the Squad’ – and help Trump – in 2024

Posted on by

Centrists are taking on progressives in upcoming House races, as some say they’re losing sight of the big picture

A looming clash between the centre and left of the Democratic party could unseat members of the “the Squad” of progressives and hand a gift to Donald Trump’s Republicans in the 2024 elections.

The war in Gaza has divided Democrats like no other issue and is likely to play a key role in party primaries that decide which candidates run for the House of Representatives.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar faces Democratic primary challenge from ex-Minneapolis official

Posted on by

Don Samuels says he will once again run after being narrowly defeated by the twice-elected congresswoman in 2022

Ilhan Omar got a prominent Democratic primary challenger Sunday when former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels announced he’ll try once again to unseat the representative after coming close in 2022.

Omar, a charter member of “the squad” of progressive House Democrats, won re-election twice despite making comments in her first term that were widely criticized for invoking antisemitic tropes and suggesting Jewish Americans have divided loyalties. But Omar – a Somali American and Muslim – has come under renewed fire for condemning the Israeli government’s war in Gaza.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar fears for family’s safety after barrage of threats over Israel criticism

Posted on by

Minnesota congresswoman blames ‘dishonest smearing’ for surge in violent threats in wake of Israel-Hamas conflict

Ilhan Omar, a Muslim US representative, said she fears for her family’s safety after receiving an onslaught of threats for criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

The Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota opened up in a statement about the increase in Islamophobic remarks and threats she has received, including threats directed at her family. NBC News first reported on the statement, which was later shared with the Guardian.

Continue reading...

Progressive Democrats protest Israeli president’s address to US Congress

Posted on by

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib say they intend to boycott address due to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians

Democratic divisions over Israel were on stark display on Tuesday, as lawmakers prepared to welcome Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, the president of Israel, for an address to a joint session of Congress.

Several progressive House members, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, intend to boycott Herzog’s speech on Wednesday to protest against the treatment of Palestinians under the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Continue reading...

Democrats’ Ilhan Omar defence weakened by party’s own attacks over Israel

Posted on by

Party’s criticism of Omar’s Israel position has greased the path for Republicans to oust her from the foreign affairs committee

The resolution that set in motion the removal of the only African immigrant, Muslim and former resident of a refugee camp on the congressional committee overseeing US foreign policy paid scant attention to Ilhan Omar’s views on anything but a single issue: Israel.

“Omar has attempted to undermine the relationship between the United States and Israel,” said the author of the resolution, Republican congressman Max Miller. “She has disqualified herself from serving on the foreign affairs committee.”

Continue reading...

Republicans remove Ilhan Omar from House foreign affairs committee – as it happened

Posted on by

The House voted along party lines as it ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee while Democrats defended her.

The vote was divided 218 to 211, CBS reports. One GOP member voted “present.”

“This debate today, it’s about who gets to be an American? What opinions do we get to have, do we have to have to be counted as American?… That is what this debate is about, Madam Speaker. There is this idea that you are suspect if you are an immigrant. Or if you are from a certain part of the world, of a certain skin tone or a Muslim.

Well, I am Muslim. I am an immigrant, and interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” she said.

“A blatant double standard is being applied here. Something just doesn’t add up. And what is the difference between Rep. Omar and these members? Could it be the way that she looks? Could it be her religious practices?” he said.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar defiant as Republicans oust her from key House committee

Posted on by

Minnesota Democrat accuses Republicans of trying to silence her because she is Muslim and vows to ‘advocate for a better world’

Republicans voted to expel Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the House foreign affairs committee on Thursday as punishment for her past remarks on Israel. Democrats objected, saying the move was about revenge after Democrats removed far-right extremists in the last Congress.

A majority of 218 GOP lawmakers supported Omar’s expulsion from the committee, which is tasked with handling legislation and holding hearings affecting America’s diplomatic relations. One Republican lawmaker voted “present”.

Continue reading...

Exclusive: more than 70 US and Brazilian lawmakers condemn Trump-Bolsonaro alliance

Posted on by

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar leads joint statement focused on Sunday’s riots in Brasília and January 6 insurrection

More than 70 progressive US and Brazilian lawmakers have condemned the collaboration between the Bolsonaro family and Trumpists in the US aimed at overturning elections in both countries, and called for those involved to be held to account.

“As lawmakers in Brazil and the United States, we stand united against the efforts by authoritarian, anti-democratic far right actors to overturn legitimate election results and overthrow our democracies,” said the joint statement, led by Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Continue reading...

Progressive Ilhan Omar wins closer-than-expected House primary in Minnesota

Posted on by

Democrats select progressive Becca Balint for Vermont House seat while Trump-backed candidate nominated for Wisconsin governor

Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a member of the select progressive group in the House of Representative dubbed the Squad, eked out a closer-than-expected Democratic primary victory on Tuesday night against a centrist challenger who questioned the incumbent’s support for the “defund the police” movement.

The evening went far smoother for another progressive, Becca Balint, who won the Democratic House primary in Vermont – positioning her to become the first woman representing the state in Congress.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar plays death threat left on voicemail during press briefing – video

Posted on by

Ilhan Omar has played an explicit death threat she received on her voicemail at a press briefing. The Democratic representative for Minnesota said threats against her life were often triggered by attacks on her faith by Republican politicians. She urged House Republican leaders to do more to counter 'anti-Muslim hatred' in their ranks 

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar: Lauren Boebert’s ‘Jihad Squad’ bigotry is ‘no laughing matter’

Posted on by

Islamophobic remarks by Lauren Boebert are “no laughing matter”, Ilhan Omar said, demanding action from congressional leaders – after the Colorado Republican said sorry.

“Saying I am a suicide bomber is no laughing matter,” the Minnesota Democrat tweeted. “[House Republican leader] Kevin McCarthy and [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi need to take appropriate action, normalising this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress.”

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar: Boebert is a ‘buffoon’ and ‘bigot’ for ‘made up’ anti-Muslim story

Posted on by

‘Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout,’ says Omar after Boebert claims to have joked about terrorism when sharing elevator

The Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar called the Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert a buffoon, a bigot and a liar, for claiming to have joked about terrorism when sharing an elevator in Congress.

“Fact,” Omar wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “This buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol, this whole story is made up. Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout.

Continue reading...

Politicians from across world call for ‘global green deal’ to tackle climate crisis

Posted on by

New alliance urges governments to work together to deliver a just transition to a green economy

People around the world need a “global green deal” that would tackle the climate crisis and restore the natural world as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of politicians from the UK, Europe and developing countries has said.

The Global Alliance for a Green New Deal is inviting politicians from legislatures in all countries to work together on policies that would deliver a just transition to a green economy ahead of Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.

Continue reading...

‘I didn’t know if I would make it out that day’: Ilhan Omar on the terror of the Capitol attack

Posted on by

The Democratic Minnesota congresswoman speaks about the ‘traumatizing experience’ of insurrectionists invading the Capitol on 6 January

Representative Ilhan Omar began to fear for her life as soon as the evacuation began.

Related: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thought she 'was going to die' during Capitol attack

Continue reading...

Insurrection and inauguration: Joe Biden’s new political era – video

Posted on by

Following the US Capitol riot, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to Washington DC for the week of Joe Biden’s inauguration to find a downtown area under what is essentially military occupation and a city coming to terms with the trauma of Donald Trump’s final days in office. 

They speak to lifelong residents in the outer suburbs as well the US congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who tells of her harrowing experience of the 6 January riot. Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton rails against criticisms of the Republican administration’s handling of the domestic terrorism threat

Continue reading...

‘Dollars don’t vote’: Ocasio-Cortez and the ‘Squad’ rally for action on climate crisis – video

Posted on by

The New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among members of the 'Squad', a group of progressive Democrats, who spoke at a Sunrise Movement rally in Washington to push Joe Biden on tackling the climate emergency.

AOC said they would urge Biden to 'keep his promises' to working families, women, minorities and climate activists as he fills his cabinet.

In July, Biden outlined an ambitious climate plan that would spend $2tn over four years investing in clean-energy infrastructure while vowing to cut carbon emissions from electrical power to zero in 15 years

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar unveils bill to cancel rent and mortgage payments amid pandemic

Posted on by

Landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government under the legislation

The Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar has unveiled a bill that would cancel rent and mortgage payments for millions of Americans struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the legislation announced on Friday, landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government. The program would extend for a month beyond the end of the national emergency, which was declared on 13 March, and would be made retroactive to cover April payments.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar writes to US Syria envoy over Turkish white phosphorus allegations

Posted on by

Congresswoman calls on US Syria envoy to give full briefing on October incident in border town

Four US congressional Democrats have written to Donald Trump’s Syria envoy asking him to spell out what information the US has about the alleged use of white phosphorus by Turkey against Syrian Kurdish civilians in October.

Ilhan Omar and three of her colleagues in the House of Representatives called on Jim Jeffrey to provide a full briefing – in private if necessary – into whether it believes the incident during the Turkish invasion two months ago amounts to a war crime.

Continue reading...

Trump: if Jared Kushner can’t achieve peace in Middle East, ‘it can’t be done’

Posted on by

President also told Israeli American Council summit some Jewish people in the US don’t love Israel enough and attacked Ilhan Omar

If Jared Kushner cannot achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Donald Trump claimed on Saturday, “it can’t be done”.

The president also told the Israeli American Council national summit some Jewish people in America don’t love Israel enough, a remark some said was antisemitic, and attacked the Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar for what he called her “despicable rhetoric” about Israel.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar’s Republican opponent banned from Twitter over ‘hanging’ post

Posted on by

Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress, was banned from Twitter after her account published a violent comment about the Democrat she hopes to unseat next year, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar.

Stella’s campaign Twitter account, @2020MNCongress, featured at least two posts involving the idea of Omar being hanged, according to the Washington Times, which broke the story of her suspension.

Continue reading...