Quote of the Day

I believe in the human capacity to learn from mistakes and to make amends, and that atonement should be rewarded not punished. Rep. Omar and I disagree regularly on policies, both domestic policy and foreign policy. She has made statements that [I experienced as] hurtful, painful and we have spoken about those. I do not believe that’s grounds for removal from a standing committee in Congress. In fact, as I also said on the floor, if there were more voices like Ilhan Omar’s when my father went to Vietnam in 1969, I think that would have saved lives. And that’s why I believe dissent is important, even if you disagree with the fundamental perspective of another member of Congress. I think it’s reckless. I think it’s dangerous.

. . . [Omar’s] world experience is different than mine. I have a great love for Israel despite its fallibilities. She is deeply troubled by Israel, for reasons I think she has expressed. But that’s different than hardened anti-Semitism. . . . I think [Rep. Omar’s ouster from the Foreign Affairs Committee] was a very dangerous and misguided effort to use [anti-Semitism] as the reason to remove her despite the fact that 90 percent of the Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives voted to maintain her on [this] committee yesterday. . . . [T]o me, grounds for removal should be predicated on people who threatened violence against fellow members, against others. She has never done so. She has never done the more obnoxious and despicable things that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar have done, including supporting an insurrection against the United States of America. I draw the line quite differently. Most of my colleagues do, as well.

– Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)
Quoted in Tom Crann and Megan Burks’s article,
“Rep. Dean Phillips: Omar Committee Ouster
Was ‘Reckless’ and ‘Dangerous’”
MPR News
February 3, 2023

Related Off-site Links:
House Votes to Remove Ilhan Omar From Foreign Affairs Committee – Andrew Solender and Erin Doherty (Axios News, February 2, 2023).
House Votes to Remove Omar From Foreign Affairs Panel as Democrats Cry Hypocrisy and “Racism” – Rachel Oswald (Roll Call, February 2, 2023).
House GOP Strips Ilhan Omar, Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff of Committee Posts – Charles P. Pierce (Esquire, Febuary 2, 2023).
Removing Democrats From House Committee Is Petty Partisan Payback from GOP – The Editorial Board (Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2023).
Ilhan Omar Sponsors Pro-Israel Resolution on Day She’s Kicked Her Off Key Committee – Ron Kampeas (Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, February 3, 2023).
Ilhan Omar Vows to Continue Speaking Out Against Israel’s Abuse of Palestinians – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, February 3, 2023).
AOC Tears Republicans a New One for Booting Ilhan Omar – Asta Hemenway (Daily Beast, February 2, 2023).
Two House Republicans Caught Saying Ilhan Omar Removal Was the “Stupidest Vote in World” Before Begging Reporters to Not Tell GOP Leadership What They Said – Warren Rojas and Brent D. Griffiths (Insider, February 2, 2023).
How Democrats Paved the Way for Kevin McCarthy’s Attack on Ilhan Omar – Akela Lacy (The Intercept, February 2, 2023)

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Ilhan Omar: “The Coup Attempt on January 6th Was a Warning for What’s to Come If We Don’t Act”
• Ilhan Omar: Quote of the Day – October 28, 2021
• Hadas Thier: Quote of the Day – June 11, 2021
• Ilhan Omar: Quote of the Day – May 29, 2021
• Ilhan Omar: Quote of the Day – January 13, 2021
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2020 U.S. Election Results
• Rep. Ilhan Omar Responds to President Trump’s Authoritarian Threats
• Quote of the Day: Ilhan Omar – August 11, 2020
• Ricardo Levins Morales on the “Deepest Political Fault Line” Separating Democrats Ilhan Omar and Antone Melton-Meaux
• To Whom the Future of America Belongs
• Ilhan Omar: Quote of the Day – April 13, 2019
• Ilhan Omar: Stepping Into Her Power
• Juan Cole: Quote of the Day – February 11, 2019
• Progressive Perspectives on the Ilhan Omar “Controversy”
• Ilhan Omar on The Daily Show

Image 1: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-MN., during a news conference on January 25, 2023. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP)
Image 2: Reps. Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips make their way to the Supreme Court for a rally with congressional Democrats, April 2, 2019. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)