Omar hits back at Alabama GOP after it approves resolution calling for her expulsion

“If you want to clean up politics, maybe don’t nominate an accused child molester as your Senate candidate,” she added, an apparent reference to Republican Roy Moore’s campaign for an Alabama Senate seat in 2017. 

Sorry, @ALGOPHQ, but this is a representative democracy.

I was elected with 78% of the vote by the people of Minnesota’s 5th District, not the Alabama Republican Party.

If you want to clean up politics, maybe don’t nominate an accused child molester as your Senate candidate? https://t.co/r9NvsZKRUw

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 27, 2019

Moore received massive scrutiny during the race over allegations that he pursued sexual and romantic relationships with teenage girls in the 1970s, when he was in his 30s. He has adamantly denied the allegations. 

The Alabama GOP over the weekend supported a resolution calling on the state’s congressional delegation to begin the process of expelling Omar from Congress. The committee agreed to the resolution during a summer meeting after it was introduced by state Rep. Tommy Hanes. 

The resolution urges Alabama’s congressional delegation to “proceed with the expulsion process in accordance to Article 1, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution.”

Among other things, the resolution condemns Omar over what it calls her “disturbing record of using anti-Semitic language that includes alleging Jewish money is used to buy American influence regarding its policy toward Israel.”

The Republicans voiced disapproval with Omar’s public support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement that presses Israel on human rights issues in its conflict with the Palestinians and alleges that she has engaged in “rhetoric that explicitly runs counter to American values and patriotism.”

In a statement to The Hill, Hanes said the Constitution allows for the removal of a member of Congress who is disloyal to the United States. He also said the effort was not motivated by race.

“The left wing mob has accused our effort of being bigoted and driven by race. I will not stand by and allow my fellow Republican patriots to be slandered. Rep. Omar’s race and religion are irrelevant,” he said. “Lady Liberty welcomes those who seek to live the American Dream and assimilate to our freedom loving culture. What is important is her love of country, her loyalty to the United States. Anyone that holds contempt for America ought not serve this great nation as a member of Congress.”

Omar, a Somali refugee who became one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress last year, has repeatedly sparked criticism from Democrats and Republicans for her comments on issues such as the United States’s relationship with Israel. 

She prompted widespread backlash earlier this year after suggesting lawmakers support Israel because of the money they receive from lobbyists. 

President Trump has frequently lashed out at the congresswoman. Last month, he told Omar and other progressive congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from. Omar has continually pushed back against the criticism, and has denounced Trump as a racist and “fascist.”