Transcript for Rep. Ilhan Omar ousted from Foreign Affairs Committee
>> AND NOW TO A STORM OF
FREEZING RAIN MAKING ITS WAY
NORTH.
>> WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS
ON CAPITOL HILL.
THE NEW HOUSE
REPUBLICAN MAJORITY HAS VOTED
TO OUST
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN ELLEN
OHMAR FROM HER POST
ON THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE.
THEY CITED SOME OF OMAR'S PAST
CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS SAYING
SHE DOESN'T HAVE AN OBJECTIVE
MINDSET.
OMAR HAS SINCE APOLOGIZED FOR
ANTI-SEMITIC REMARKS, INCLUDING
ONE SUGGESTING THAT PRO-ISRAEL
LOBBYISTS WERE BUYING
POLITICAL SUPPORT.
>> ABC'S JAKE O'BRIEN JOINS ME
LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL NOW FOR
MORE .
SO HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THIS
MOVE?
YEAH, ALEXIS , THAT VOTE JUST
ENDING.
REPUBLICANS OUSTING A LOT
MORE FROM THE HOUSE FOREIGN
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN FOR
OUSTING HER 211 AGAINST 211.
OBVIOUSLY, DEMOCRATS, THE 218
REPUBLICANS THERE WAS ONE WHO
VOTED PRESENT THAT WAS
A REPUBLICAN.
WE'RE WORKING ON ASKING HIM WHY
HE MADE THAT VOTE THE WAY IT
WAS.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU, I WAS IN
THE CHAMBER.
AND BEFORE THAT VOTE , THERE
WAS PASSIONATE DEBATE.
THERE WAS A GROUP OF ABOUT
40 DEMOCRATS ALL SITTING AROUND
ELLEN OLMER.
THEY WERE ALL WALKING UP TO THE
MICROPHONE EXPRESSING SUPPORT
FOR HER.
THERE WERE SOME PROMINENT
JEWISH DEMOCRATS THERE AS WELL
.
WE'VE HEARD REPUBLICANS SAY
THEY WANTED TO KICK OMAR OFF OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS BECAUSE OF
PREVIOUS ANTI-SEMITIC
STATEMENTS, WHICH OMAR HAS
APOLOGIZED FOR.
WE ALSO HEARD REPUBLICANS MAKE
MENTION TODAY OF WHAT THEY SAY
IS A LACK OF SUPPORT FROM OMAR
FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
BUT OVERALL, EHUD OLMERT TAKING
THE MIC BEFORE THIS SPEECH
AND SAYING, I AM AN AMERICAN
AND SAYING THAT THIS WHOLE
DEBATE HINGES ON THE QUESTION
OF WHO IS AN AMERICAN AND WHAT
MAKES AN AMERICAN.
SHE ALSO PROMISED AT THE END OF
HER REMARKS THAT EVEN IF SHE
WERE TO BE REMOVED FROM
THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE,
WHICH IS NOW HAPPENED, THAT SHE
WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE HER VOICE
HEARD AND CONTINUE TO BE AN
ADVOCATE FOR THE CAUSES THAT
SHE CARES ABOUT ALEXIS .
NOW, OF COURSE, THIS
VOTE FOLLOWS SPEAKER MCCARTHY'S
DECISION TO REMOVE DEMOCRAT
ADAM SCHIFF AND ERIC SWALWELL
FROM THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE.
>> HOW ARE DEMOCRATS RESPONDING
TO THAT?
WELL, DEMOCRATS ARE CALLING ALL
OF THIS POLITICAL RETRIBUTION,
REVENGE POLITICS, IF YOU WILL .
AND THIS IS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT
THAN THE INTEL COMMITTEE
BECAUSE THE INTEL COMMITTEE
IS A SELECT COMMITTEE, WHICH
THE SPEAKER HAS CONTROL OVER,
MEANING HE CAN REMOVE MEMBERS
OF THAT COMMITTEE ON HIS OWN
WITHOUT A HOUSE VOTE .
IN THIS CASE.
IN OMAR'S CASE, YOU NEED
A HOUSE VOTE , WHICH IS WHAT
JUST TRANSPIRED TO REMOVE
SOMEONE OFF OF A COMMITTEE LIKE
THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
BUT AGAIN, DEMOCRATS SAYING
THAT ALL OF THESE REMOVALS OF
THEIR MEMBERS FROM COMMITTEES
IS POLITICAL RETRIBUTION
AND EVEN REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING
THAT THIS WAS STARTED, THE BALL
BEGAN ROLLING HERE IN THE EYES
OF SOME REPUBLICANS WHEN
DEMOCRATS MADE THE DECISION
TO REMOVE REPRESENTATIVES LIKE
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE AND PAUL
GOSAR FROM THEIR COMMITTEE
ASSIGNMENTS IN THE LAST
CONGRESS.
DEMOCRATS OBVIOUSLY MAKING
THOSE DECISIONS BECAUSE OF
PREVIOUS STATEMENTS THAT
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE HAD MADE
SOME OF WHICH WERE CONSIDERED
ANTI-SEMITIC.
A STATEMENT ABOUT JEWISH
SPACE LASERS, FOR INSTANCE,
AND PAUL GONgALVES TWEETING OF
A VIOLENT VIDEO THAT REFERENCED
ALEXANDRIA, A COSIO CORTEZ.
SO REPUBLICANS DRAWING
COMPARISONS BETWEEN THESE
COMMITTEE REMOVALS AND OTHER
COMMITTEE REMOVALS.
DEMOCRATS TODAY IN
THEIR OFFENSIVE ON OMAR, SAYING
THAT WHAT OMAR HAS BEEN
CRITICIZED FOR, WHAT ADAM
SCHIFF AND WHAT ERIC SWALWELL
REPUBLICANS CRITICIZED THEM FOR
IS NOWHERE NEAR COMPARABLE
TO WHAT TO WHY THEY MADE
THE DECISION TO REMOVE MARJORIE
TAYLOR .
GREAT.
AND PAUL GOSAR AND PREVIOUS
CONGRESS.
AND I WONDER IF OTHERS ARE
TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS MAY
APPEAR HYPOCRITICAL BECAUSE OF
MCCARTHY.
HE DID APPOINT EMBATTLED
CONGRESSMAN GEORGE SANTO'S
TO TWO COMMITTEES, ALTHOUGH HE
HAS SINCE RECUSED HIMSELF.
HOW IS MCCARTHY RESPONDING
TO CRITICS WHO WHO ARE CALLING
THAT HYPOCRITICAL?
FOR CALLING FOR SANTOS TO BE
REMOVED?
WILL SANTOS WAS ONE HAMMER THAT
DEMOCRATS USE REPEATEDLY UP
UNTIL THE POINT THAT HE MADE
THAT DECISION, MCCARTHY SAYS,
TO REMOVE HIMSELF FROM THOSE
TWO COMMITTEES.
WE HEARD REPUBLICANS OR
DEMOCRATS FREQUENTLY SAY, WELL,
YOU'RE KICKING ON OMAR
AND ADAM SCHIFF OFF OF
COMMITTEES, BUT YOU'RE
APPOINTING JORGE SANTOS TO YOUR
POINT TO LOW PROFILE
COMMITTEES.
BUT COMMITTEES NONETHELESS,
SINCE HIS DECISION TO TAKE
HIMSELF OFF OF THOSE
COMMITTEES, AS THOSE
INVESTIGATE PROGRESS IN
NEW YORK AND AN ETHICS
COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION
PROGRESSES HERE IN CONGRESS, WE
HAVEN'T HEARD DEMOCRATS MAKE
MENTION OF JORGE SANTOS, HIS
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS.
BUT WHAT WE HAVE HEARD
IS REPEATED CLAIMS OF HYPOCRISY
AS IT RELATES TO MARJORIE
TAYLOR GREENE AND PAUL GOSAR.
WHO NOW HAVE HIGH PROFILE
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS
CONGRESS.
BOTH NOW SITTING
ON THE POWERFUL HOUSE OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE.
>> ALEXIS , WHAT DO YOU THINK
THIS JUST MEANS ON THE LARGER
POLITICAL SCALE?
THE FACT THAT OMAR WAS
THE FIRST OF MANY.
RIGHT, THE FIRST AFRICAN
REFUGEE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF
CONGRESS, THE FIRST WOMAN OF
COLOR TO REPRESENT MINNESOTA,
ONE OF THE FIRST TWO MUSLIM
AMERICAN WOMEN ELECTED
TO CONGRESS, NOT JUST HER
REMOVAL FROM THIS COMMITTEE
MEAN IN THE GREATER
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE?
WELL, THE QUESTION THAT REALLY
CONFRONTS THE HOUSE
REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE NOW
IS HOW FAR DOES THIS REVENGE
POLITICS GO ?
IS THIS THE LAST DEMOCRAT TO BE
REMOVED FROM COMMITTEES?
ALL SIGNS POINT TO THAT.
IT IS .
BUT THE QUESTION AGAIN IS NOW
THAT REPUBLICANS ARE IN CONTROL
OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, NOW THAT
THEY HAVE THIS MAJORITY.
HOW WILL THEY EXERCISE THIS
POWER?
WE'VE ALREADY SEEN EXAMPLES OF
REMOVING DEMOCRATS FROM
COMMITTEES THAT THEY DON'T WANT
ON THOSE COMMITTEES.
THIS IS NOW THE THIRD DEMOCRAT
THAT THAT'S HAPPENED TO .
BUT HOW DOES THIS LOOK LIKE
GOING FORWARD?
WHAT IS THE OVERALL LANDSCAPE
FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS AND HOW
DO THEY WIELD THEIR POWER IN
THIS CHAMBER?
WE KNOW THAT ANOTHER WAY
THEY'RE GOING TO WIELD
THEIR POWER IS INVESTIGATIONS
INTO DIVIDED ADMINISTRATION,
INTO HUNTER BIDEN, INTO
THE BORDER CRISIS, AND THINGS
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.