The House of Representatives voted Tuesday, in a 219-212 party-line vote, to approve legislation sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., would establish a new special envoy position at the State Department to monitor and combat Islamophobia worldwide.
The bill was prompted in part because of a furor stirred by remarks by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colo., about Omar's Muslim background.
During a House floor debate last month, Boebert called the Somali-born, Muslim-American immigrant a member of the “jihad squad” of liberal lawmakers.
In introducing the debate, Rep. James McGovern, the Democrat chairman of the House Rules Committee, cited surveys showing an uptick of anti-Muslim sentiment nationwide and around the world — and the need for an energetic U.S. response.
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate.
This report contains material from The Associated Press.
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