Rep. McCarthy tells Jewish Republicans he will pull Ilhan Omar from committee
LAS VEGAS — Kevin McCarthy, the likely next speaker of the US House of Representatives, said he would remove Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in part because of her criticism of Israel.
He also hinted that her personal criticism of him last year was a factor.
McCarthy, a California Republican whose party just won a narrow majority in the House, was speaking Saturday to the annual Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas.
Ilhan Omar antisemitism controversies
Omar has called for greater congressional oversight of the US-Israel relationship. She has attacked parts of the pro-Israel lobby, at times appearing to invoke themes of Jewish control, which has drawn accusations of antisemitism from some Jewish groups, from Republicans and from some Democrats. (Omar has apologized for some but not all of the remarks that caused offense.) She also supports the movement to boycott Israel.
Wake up Jewish Voters. You didn’t see Pelosi evict her, nor did Pelosi reprimand her. In fact she licked her donkey.
Republicans are the Jews best friend, Ask the Orthodox Community of in Brooklyn, Orange and Rockland counties who they voted for in 2022.
New York politicians have long courted the Orthodox Jewish vote in areas like Brooklyn and Orange and Rockland counties.
On Tuesday, the community proved its strength by helping Republican candidates pull off a series of stunning upsets.
The Orthodox Jewish community overwhelmingly supported Republican Lee Zeldin, who promised to protect private religious schools known as yeshivas from government intervention.
While they could not put Zeldin over the top in the race for governor, down-ballot candidates were able to ride his coattails.
“I think there were was a lot of that,” said David Lobl, a prominent political strategist who spent years as Governor Cuomo’s top Jewish affairs liaison. “People took their frustration out, and they went with Zeldin, and then they just went down the ballot.”
Jewish communities in the Hudson Valley may have been the difference in the shocking upset of Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, whose opponent, Mike Lawler, joined Zeldin in visits to the community.
The Jewish vote may have also helped topple Rockland County state Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and longtime Brooklyn Assemblymembers Steven Cymbrowitz and Peter Abbate.
Abbate lost to Republican Lester Chang, who said of the Orthodox community: “They are angry, they are livid, how the state tried to run the yeshiva according to standards.”
Indeed, increased state regulation of yeshivas was the overriding concern for many in the community, though Lobl said Orthodox Jews also felt unfairly maligned by Democrats during outbreaks of measles and COVID in recent years.
“I think the Orthodox community showed that they’re a force to be reckoned with, but I think it’s a mistake to think that this is something that just happened with Lee Zeldin,” Lobl said. “This is something that’s been brewing for a while.”
The community turned out in droves Tuesday, with turnout topping 50% in some of the densest Orthodox areas of Borough Park.
“The turnout this cycle was insanely high in Orthodox Jewish communities,” Lobl said. “You saw lines that you never saw.”
McCarthy vows to remove Swalwell, Schiff, Omar from House committees
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Sunday vowed to remove Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff and Ilhan Omar from their congressional committees when Republicans retake control in the new Congress.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy told anchor Maria Bartiromo that he will keep the promise he made in January to remove Swalwell and Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee and Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
McCarthy said Swalwell’s association with a Chinese spy, Schiff’s promotion of the Steele dossier and Omar’s criticism of Israel disqualify them from serving on their respective panels.