(Roll Call)
The House on Thursday overwhelmingly — but notably, not unanimously — passed a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism, racism and Islamophobia, ending days of spirited debate over the appropriate response recent comments from Minnesota Democratic freshman Ilhan Omar.
The final vote was 407-23. All of the “no” votes came from Republicans, including their No. 3, Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Cheney was among the first three “no” votes recorded and several other Republicans seemed to be following her lead. The first member on the board as a “no” was Texas’ Louie Gohmert, who said before the vote he was opposed because it wasn’t a direct rebuke.
“Anti-Semitism is a very special kind of hatred that should never be watered down,” Gohmert said. “There has never been a persecution of a people like the Jewish people.”
Most Democrats and Republicans said Omar’s recent comments questioning “the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country” was anti-Semitic because it invoked a dangerous stereotype about dual loyalties. But many rank-and-file Democrats objected to their leaders’ effort to respond to that remark with a resolution rejecting the myth of dual loyalty and condemning anti-Semitism. They said it unfairly attacked Omar when President Donald Trump and others have regularly espoused hateful rhetoric.
Democratic leaders, working with the heads of several committees and caucuses, responded to those concerns by updating the resolution with language that rejected other forms of hate such as anti-Muslim discrimination and racism. Read more