As Democratic leaders consider their options to punish Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) for her Islamophobic comments toward Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), the list of Democrats calling for Boebert to be removed from her committee assignments is growing.
On Thursday, 38 progressive lawmakers in the House released a statement in support of the punishment for Boebert. Led by Representatives Jamaal Bowman (D-New York), Cori Bush (D-Missouri), André Carson (D-Indiana) and Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), the lawmakers decried Republican leaders’ tacit endorsement of hate speech against Omar and Muslims across the country.
Over past weeks, videos have emerged showing Boebert spewing animus toward Omar, implying that the progressive lawmaker is a terrorist and saying that she is part of the so-called “jihad squad,” a bigoted nickname for progressive lawmakers dubbed by Republicans.
The lawmakers condemned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) for his silence on the issue, pointing out that Boebert has refused to apologize for her Islamophobic attacks.
“In the face of death threats and vitriol being spewed at Rep. Omar, Representative Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)’s decision to allow and embolden continued hostility from his members speaks clearly to the Republican party’s willingness to allow hate and division to grow at the expense of our people, our values, and our institutions,” the lawmakers wrote.
The progressives went on to say that they “refuse to stand by as Islamophobia, anti-Blackness, anti-immigrant sentiment, and xenophobia are trafficked into the halls of Congress by members of the Republican party.” Pursuing disciplinary action against Boebert, they said, is a crucial step towards accountability — not only to Omar and fellow members of Congress, but also to the Muslim community at large.
“Muslims across the country are looking to Congress at this moment, watching to see if those they sent to represent their interests in Washington are going to stand up in the face of blatant, vicious Islamophobia. We owe it to them… to stand up and show them that their votes to send us here mean something — that our values mean something, and are worth defending,” the statement concluded.
The 38 lawmakers, including Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), are joining a growing coalition of Democrats calling for Boebert to be disciplined.
On Wednesday, leaders of five caucuses also led a call for Boebert’s removal from committees. Jayapal, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Congressional Asian Pacific American Chair Judy Chu (D-California), Congressional Equality Caucus Chair David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Raul Ruiz (D-California) joined that call.
“It should not be a partisan issue to condemn the explicit harassment and dangerous abuse of a colleague based on their religion, but this is the level to which the GOP leader and too many members of the Republican party have sunk,” the caucus chairs wrote.
Earlier this week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) told reporters that leaders are “considering what action ought to be taken.” But Democratic leaders have since been quiet about the issue, even as Hoyer acknowledged that the “jihad squad” phrase and other similar language by far-right representatives could “inflame the passions” of potentially violent actors.
Indeed, Omar has said that she received an uptick in death threats due to Boebert’s Islamophobic rhetoric. On Tuesday, the Democrat shared a voicemail she received that appeared to be a direct result of Boebert’s comments being posted and shared online. The caller hurled racist slurs and profanities at Omar, and threatened her life in no uncertain terms.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 98 new monthly donors before midnight tonight.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy