Mace calls for Omar to be "deported" in social media clash
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Firebrand Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she would "love to see" progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) "deported back to Somalia" in a back-and-forth between the two lawmakers on social media Wednesday.
The big picture: Amid a broad GOP effort to punish those who criticized Charlie Kirk after he was fatally shot, House Republicans are seeking to kick Omar off her committees and censure her for her comments about the controversial MAGA podcaster.
- Omar sparked right-wing outrage for recounting Kirk's positions in a Zeteo interview with Mehdi Hasan last week, in which she expressed "empathy" for Kirk's family but spoke dismissively of "people who are out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate."
- She added, "there is nothing more f-ed up ... than to completely pretend that his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so."
Driving the news: Mace, who introduced a measure to boot Omar from her committees and censure her over the interview and a separate video she reposted, wrote in a Wednesday post about her censure resolution, "If you celebrate murder, maybe Somalia can take you back."
- Omar shot back, "I know you aren't well or smart but I hope someone can explain to you that there isn't a correlation between my committee assignments and deportation."
- Mace responded, again saying she'd "love to see you deported back to Somalia next."
- Omar fired back, "Would love to see you get the help you need next. You belong in rehab, not Congress."
Context: The Minnesota Democrat fled Somalia with her family as a child, spending time in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the U.S. as a refugee. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000, per the AP.
- For years, Trump has repeatedly singled out Omar, who he recently described as a "disgusting person."
- Amid a fracturing of decorum on the Hill, Mace is not the only lawmaker who has called for Omar, a U.S. citizen, to be deported.
Zoom out: Mace, a combative representative who has taken to using anti-trans slurs on the Hill, continued to share posts about Omar throughout the day, one of which read, "One-way ticket to Somalia with your name on it, Ilhan Omar."
The other side: Omar has highlighted that Mace's censure resolution does not "contain a single quote from me."
- Rather, it repeatedly quotes a video she reposted, which called Kirk a "reprehensible human being," a "stochastic terrorist" and a "transphobe."
- A spokesperson for Omar said in a statement to Axios that "Congresswoman Omar was one of the first to condemn Charlie Kirk's murder."
- "In her interview, she also grappled with his divisive legacy, but she in no way implied violence was deserved, nor did she celebrate his death," the spokesperson added.
What we're watching: "I'm gonna be louder than I've ever been until this sh*t stops," Mace vowed last week.
Go deeper: Democrats retaliate against GOP for Ilhan Omar censure vote
