Republican eyes rogue vote to expel Ilhan Omar from Congress
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Rep. Ilhan Omar attends a classified briefing at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 16. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) told Axios on Wednesday that he is "actively considering" forcing a vote to expel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from Congress.
Why it matters: The House has struggled this year to curb the use of tools like expulsion, censure and impeachment by renegade members as a cudgel against their political adversaries.
- Some members have even floated raising the threshold for censure — a rebuke that is supposed to carry significant weight but has been watered down by its growing use in recent years.
- Fine's effort would almost certainly fail because expulsion requires a two-thirds vote in the House. If all Republicans vote to expel Omar, roughly 85 Democrats would need to join them.
Driving the news: Fine, in an interview on Capitol Hill, pointed to a fundraising email from Omar's campaign suggesting he be expelled for saying Muslims should be "destroyed."
- "I won't send out fundraising emails calling for her expulsion. If I'm going to do that, you will see me bring the piece of paper. And I am actively considering that," he said.
- Fine pointed to unproven allegations — long denied by Omar — that she married her brother and what he called her "general embrace of Muslim terror" as the impetus for his potential effort.
- "I don't think she should be a citizen, let alone a member of Congress," he added.
The other side: "I don't think anybody takes that man serious," Omar told Axios in a brief interview at the Capitol.
- "I don't think he takes himself serious, so nobody should worry about anything he says," she added.
- Omar has already faced an unsuccessful Republican censure effort this year after being booted from the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023 for her criticism of Israel.
Between the lines: Since entering Congress earlier this year, Fine has garnered a reputation for his unflagging support of Israel and a series of unapologetically Islamophobic remarks.
- Fine, who is Jewish, has advocated the mass expulsion of American Muslims. He's also said Palestinians in Gaza need to be forced into unconditional surrender — citing the Japanese surrender in WWII after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki— and said in one post about the Israel-Hamas war: "Release the hostages. Until then, starve away."
- This has put him at stark odds with Omar, a Somali-American Muslim and staunch critic of Israel who has repeatedly clashed with Fine.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with Fine's comments about Palestinians.
