Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced a resolution seeking punishment for Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and accountability following her Islamophobic comments regarding Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar. The resolution, backed by other progressives, looks to remove Boebert from her budget and natural resources committee assignments.
“Words have consequences, we must acknowledge that and respond with action,” Pressley said at a news conference, according to NBC News.
Last month, Boebert was caught on video twice telling a story about an interaction that never happened with Omar, one of three Muslim Congress members, in an elevator. Boebert alluded to Omar being a suicide bomber.
Omar held a press conference to talk about the Islamophobia that’s pervasive not only in the country, but in the Republican party. She played a threatening voicemail that she says is part of an influx of death threats and nasty messages since Boebert’s story caught steam.
From NBC:
Specifically, the resolution would remove Boebert from the House Budget Committee and House Natural Resources Committee.
Pressley said the resolution also aims to “send a powerful message to every Muslim and every marginalized person who has ever questioned their place in this country, or in the halls of power: We see you, you belong, you are powerful and you deserve a life free from fear, and filled with dignity and love.”
More than a dozen House Democrats back the resolution, according to Pressley’s office, including several other members of the so-called “squad” such as Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as well as the chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
According to CBS News, the resolution cited a rule that states House of Representatives “shall behave at all times in a manner that reflects credibility on the House.”
Both Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib spoke at the conference, NBC News reports, condemning Boebert for her actions and the violence her words could incite. Ocasio-Cortez and Boebert previously sparred it out over Twitter while talking about unemployment benefits.
“Representative Boebert, whatever her intentions may be, for her racism and flagrant bigotry needs to experience a consequence for her actions, whether she seeks it out or not. Because when we inconsistently apply consequences to bigotry, we invite more people to test these boundaries,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Boebert has now suddenly gone mute and was unavailable for comment regarding the resolution.