By Ana Radelat

Copyright minnpost

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ilhan Omar narrowly avoided censure late Wednesday as she fell victim to an aggressive GOP campaign that seeks to punish those who criticize hard-right activist Charlie Kirk, the victim of an assassination last week.

The U.S. House rejected a measure on a 214-213 vote that would have stripped Omar of her committee assignments because of comments she made soon after Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University last week.

Four Republicans joined all Democrats in rejecting the effort to censure Omar, so the 5th District Democrat will continue to sit on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Budget Committee. Those four Republicans were Reps. Mike Flood, R-Neb.; Tom McClintock, R-Calif.; Jeff Hurd, R-Colo.; and Cory Mills, R-Fla.

“Thank you to my colleagues for having my back and not furthering lies on the House floor,” Omar posted on X after the vote. “Appreciate them safeguarding first amendment protections and the usage of the censure.”

Omar’s troubles began because of an interview with British broadcaster Mehdi Hasan the day after Kirk’s shooting. In that interview, Omar was empathetic and said the assassination was “mortifying.”

“All I could think about was his wife, his children,” Omar said. “My heart does break for those babies.”

But Omar also criticized those who said Kirk was a champion of civil debate, saying Kirk’s divisive comments about gun violence, slavery and the killing of George Floyd “belie this.”

That was enough for Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, who is running for governor. She sponsored the censure resolution and called Omar’s comments “vile” and “disgraceful.” Omar argued Mace was trying to censure her for comments she never said.

Mace’s resolution also condemned Omar’s reposting of videos and other social media comments about Kirk. Most of those posts criticized those who condemned political violence while having been supporters and propagators of Kirk’s divisive comments. One anonymous post called Kirk a “reprehensible human being.”

Things deteriorated quickly as Omar was at the center of a heated debate about free speech and Kirk.

In an online fight on X, Omar called Mace “crazy” and accused her of pushing “a false story so she can fundraise and boost her run for governor.”

Mace, in turn, called for Omar’s deportation to the nation of her birth, Somalia. And her effort caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who called Omar a “disgusting person” because of her criticisms of Kirk.

Meanwhile, Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, slapped back at Mace with a post on X that said “this attack on our colleague @illhan does nothing to turn down the temperature in our politics at a time when we desperately need it. It’s time to stop playing political games… .”

Related: House votes to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee

The attempt to censure Omar is part of an effort by Republican lawmakers, Kirk’s hard-right supporters and even Vice President JD Vance to punish those who have criticized Kirk after his death.

Some make little distinction between those who condemned the assassination but are critical of Kirk and those who are jubilant about Kirk’s death, accusing all of supporting political violence.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisconsin, has introduced a bill that would block federal funds to entities that employ people “who condone and employ political violence”; other GOP lawmakers want to form a new House committee devoted to investigating “the radical left’s assault on the rule of law.”

And when he guest-hosted an episode of the Charlie Kirk Show this week, Vance said people who celebrated Kirk’s killing should be held accountable. “Call them out, and hell, call their employer,” Vance said.

An increasing number of people, including a journalist and a doctor as well as teachers and government employees, have been suspended or fired for comments that were deemed inappropriate about Kirk’s death. And Long Island, New York, tabloid Newsday was forced to apologize for running a syndicated political cartoon that Kirk supporters deemed offensive.

While Omar escaped punishment Wednesday, she has been censured before. She lost her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023 after the U.S. House voted along party lines on a GOP resolution that accused the lawmaker of antisemitic remarks.