Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12), Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee and Senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement following the passage of the GOP resolution to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which she has served her entire tenure in Congress:

“Rep. Omar, who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know well over the years, has been a strategic and effective legislator from her first days serving in Congress. Her unique lived experience as a refugee brings incredible value to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Make no mistake: this is not about antisemitism. If Republicans really cared about antisemitism, they would have denounced Donald Trump for inviting vile anti-semites and neo-Nazis like Nick Fuentes to dine with him. Today’s stunt by House Republicans to remove Rep. Omar from her committees is nothing more than a partisan, baseless attack of political vengeance.

“Without Congresswoman Omar’s representation on the Foreign Affairs Committee, we lose an experienced, dedicated, talented legislator and public servant.  She is a survivor of war who knows first-hand the trauma of conflict and life in a refugee camp.  And she would be the first African-born member to serve as a Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee.  Republicans are taking this action at the same moment that we are working to rebuild relationships with the people of Africa – at the same time China emerges as a powerful force on the continent. By treating Congresswoman Omar this way, we are silencing the voice of a woman who knows firsthand what is needed to repair our relationships on the African continent and allow it to thrive, as opposed to castigating African nations as “S-hole” countries like the former president and leader of the Republican party shamefully did.

“Stripping her from this committee is not only undemocratic,  it is a thinly veiled discriminatory, partisan, and bigoted hack job by the GOP to get points on Fox News. They should probably focus more on how they justify allowing compulsive liars and conspiracy theorists to hold committee assignments rather than stripping effective members of theirs.”