House passes anti-Islamophobia law in response to GOP’s Boebert.

It wasn’t the first time Republican Representative Lauren Boebert made a racist, Islamophobic remark against Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar.

During a House floor debate last month, Boebert mocked Omar, referring to the Somali-born Muslim-American immigrant as a member of the liberal “jihad squad.”

The House took the first formal step toward a response on Tuesday, passing legislation sponsored by Omar that would create a new special envoy position at the State Department to monitor and oppose Islamophobia around the world on a party-line vote of 219-212.

Rep. James McGovern, the Democratic chairman of the House Rules Committee, opened the debate by citing polls suggesting an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States and around the world, as well as the necessity for a strong American reaction.

According to McGovern, the House has arrived at this point because a colleague has “repeatedly told a wholly manufactured story that claims a Muslim colleague is a terrorist… just because they are Muslim.”

Those actions are “a disgrace on our entire institution,” he said, without mentioning Boebert, the Colorado freshman legislator. “This House is better than a few here’s worst actions.”

In the Senate, the bill is unlikely to pass. But the ordeal offers another another view into the Republican Party’s state of affairs, over a year after Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to reverse Joe Biden’s victory. Even when their everyday rhetoric borders on racist hate speech, Republican leaders are hesitant or unable to publicly chastise their own, particularly those close to Trump.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned reporters that the Democratic leaders’ response to Boebert’s behavior will not end with Tuesday’s vote.

They have, however, stated repeatedly that it is the responsibility of the Republican leadership to confront their most vociferous members who cross a line. So far, the Democrats have refrained from taking harsher measures against Boebert, such as censure or removal of her committee assignments, as they have for other lawmakers — and as some Democrats wanted.

The minority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, has not indicated any additional action.

McCarthy, a Republican from California, has claimed that he helped arrange a phone contact between Boebert and Omar days after the Republican’s words were questioned.
He also said that Boebert had apologized prior to the call.

However, several MPs felt her apology — “to anyone in the Muslim community I upset” — was insufficient.

The call between Boebert and Omar ended abruptly, rather than easing tensions. Boebert alleged Omar hung up on her when she rebuffed his desire for a public apology. In a statement, Omar stated she ended an ineffective call.

Around Thanksgiving, Boebert sparked a commotion when she uploaded a video on Facebook of herself telling constituents about an encounter with Omar in a House elevator.

Boebert stated she saw Omar as she entered the elevator. Boebert remembers adding, “Well, she doesn’t have a backpack,” an apparent reference to a suicide bomber. “I think we’ll be alright.”

Omar, one of only a few Muslims in Congress and the only one who wears a religious hijab on a regular basis, says the incident never occurred.

Boebert, the conservative newcomer, wasn’t the first to put the rules of civility to the test.

During a House debate last month to condemn another Republican, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, Boebert mocked Omar as a member of the “jihad squad.” He was being chastised for tweeting an animated video showing the assassination of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another member of the so-called “squad” of liberal politicians.

Gosar re-posted the inflammatory video to his Twitter account shortly after the censure decision.

In many ways, Republican lawmakers are following in Trump’s footsteps. Trump mocked minority communities on the campaign trail and in the White House, mocked specific African countries with vulgarity, and imposed a ban on arrivals from largely Muslim countries as one of his first unilateral moves as president.

During Tuesday’s debate on the bill, Omar, who immigrated to the United States as a child and now serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that as a society established on religious liberty, the United States must oppose religious persecution of Muslims and others around the world.

She stated, “We must lead the worldwide effort.” “As Americans, we must unify in our opposition to all types of intolerance.”

Republican critics argued the bill was rushed through, that it didn’t clearly define “Islamophobia,” and that it shouldn’t provide Muslims with different protections from other religious organizations.

Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, a Republican, brought up previous statements by Omar that he claimed were anti-Semitic and pro-terrorism.

Omar, who has been critical of Israel, tweeted shortly after assuming office in 2019 that certain MPs are only supportive of the Jewish state for the fundraising money – a remark generally seen as an insult. She apologized “unequivocally” at the time. Perry also brought up Omar’s words about the September 11th attacks, which were interpreted as dismissive but were also misconstrued.

Democrats tried to delete Perry’s words off the record as breaking House rules. During the debate, Boebert remained silent.

“She has been subjected to unrelenting insults and frightening threats not just from her fellow Americans, but even within the corridors of Congress,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., a co-sponsor of the anti-Islamophobia measure, said of Omar. And that’s enough.”