Members of the Republican party have put forward a resolution condemning the statements of Rep. Ilhan Omar that they describe as “anti-American.”
The resolution, which accuses Omar of having “a documented history of expressing anti-American sentiments” was introduced by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs and co-sponsored by eight Republican representatives.
It adds that Omar, and other members of Congress, have been “advocating for a Marxist form of government that is incompatible with the principles laid out in the founding documents of the United States.”
The GOP resolution accused Dems of “violating their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Omar’s office described the allegations and the legislation as a “false smear.”
The GOP resolution follows an anti-racism speech Omar made at a press conference earlier this month in which she stated that “we must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we find it.”
Her remarks follow calls for legislative changes, including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which has been passed by Democrats in the House of Representatives, but stalled by the Senate.
“We can’t stop at criminal justice reform, or policing reform, for that matter,” Omar said. “We are not merely fighting to tear down the systems of oppression in the criminal justice system. We are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in healthcare, in employment, in the air we breathe. As long as our economy and political systems prioritize profit without considering who is profiting, who is being shut out, we will perpetuate this inequality. We cannot stop at the criminal justice system, we must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we find it.”
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says we can’t stop at the criminal justice system and we must dismantle other systems of oppression like the US economy and political system.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 7, 2020
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The US has seen waves of anti-racism and anti-police-brutality protests calling for political change in the police system after George Floyd, an unarmed African American, man was killed in Minneapolis in May by white police officers.
Floyd's killing inspired calls for the US government to defund police, as protesters seek a shift in budgeting, from policing to other types of public service.
US President Donald Trump denounced the calls to defund police as a “fad” saying “we will never, ever defund our police.”
US Vice President Mike Pence echoed Trump's sentiment, accusing US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of referring to police as “the enemy” in a tweet.
President @realDonaldTrump & this Administration are listening, learning & leading. Yesterday, Joe Biden referred to the police at “the enemy” & called for them to be defunded. We want all officers to hear us loud & clear: we are NOT going to defund the police—not now, not ever.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) July 10, 2020
Biden has formally rejected calls to defund police, however. In a CBS interview he said, “I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community and everybody in the community.”
