US: Ilhan Omar, Dems rip through Lauren Boebert for anti-Muslim remarks; 'She is a bigot'

Following the Islamophobic comments by United States Representative Lauren Boebert, House liberals are pushing efforts to discipline her for making offensive remarks against a Muslim colleague and further promising vote on a bill to combat Islamophobia internationally, The Hill reported. Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado has been chastised for making anti-Muslim remarks against Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, whom she compared to a bomb-carrying terrorist, as per the Associated Press. 

Further, US Representative Jamaal Bowman (D New York), a first-term lawmaker from the Bronx as well as an ally of Omar, responded to Boebert's remarks, and replied, "Not enough." "We are in the majority; we have a responsibility to act; and we're going to continue to push leadership to do just that," as per The Hill.  

House Liberals are rallying to remove Boebert from her committee assignments

In addition to this, besides Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), progressives are rallying to push through a resolution for removing Boebert from her committee assignments, as Democrats previously did this year with GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, who highlighted violent imagery or rhetoric against Democratic lawmakers. 

Boebert, on the other hand, made no clear threats against Omar. However, her claim that the Minnesota Democrat, who is one of just three Muslim lawmakers of Congress, is a terrorist threat and has prompted death threats on the Somali refugee. As a result, the liberal effort to remove Boebert from her committee duties is gaining steam. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, “There is no question that when another member suggested that (Omar) was a suicide bomber ... that endangered her life,” as per The Hill. 

However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to support the request to remove Boebert from her committee responsibilities, despite strongly denouncing her remarks. Instead, she has scheduled a vote on a bill introduced by Representative Ilhan Omar that would create a special State Department office tasked with detecting and combating anti-Muslim violence across the world, along with any state-sponsored initiatives that fall under that category. 

As per The Hill, Representative Jan Schakowsky, another lead supporter of the bill, stated in a statement following Friday's markup, "It is more urgent than ever that the U.S. does all it can to combat anti-Muslim hate." Further, Omar's allies applauded the move to expedite the bill before the long winter holiday. 

(Image: AP)