Rep. Ilhan Omar"s "unequivocal" apology for a tweet suggesting members of Congress support Israel because they are being paid was "filled with equivocations" and she should not be serving on any House committees, Rep. Lee Zeldin, who chairs the House Republican Israel Caucus, said Tuesday.
"This is not the first time that there has been an issue with Congresswoman Omar," the New York Republican told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime." "She has a long history."
Zeldin said he does think it's good that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "finally" spoke out about the controversy concerning the Minnesota Democrat, and he believes Pelosi "clearly forced" Omar to apologize, as she wouldn't have said she was sorry on her own.
In addition to "putting out this anti-Semitic trope," Omar has requested leniency for ISIS fighters in the past, said Zeldin, and has been "pro-Madero" in Venezuela.
"I don't think she should be serving on any committees, especially the House Foreign Affairs Committee," said Zeldin. He also pointed out that Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was stripped of all his committee assignments, despite apologizing in several ways including on the House floor, but Omar has only apologized through Twitter.
"All you have is an apology via tweet and no other repercussions," he said. "That's not going to stop it. We will see this again."
He also accused Omar, a Muslim, of knowing "exactly what she's doing" with her statements.
"I believe she taps into experiences that she has had personally in life to add to her perspective that she believes what she says," said Zeldin.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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