Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) stated that he will submit a motion to criticize Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday following her suggestion that some Jewish students are “pro-genocide.”
Bacon mentioned that he does not intend to make his motion privileged, which means the House will not promptly vote on the measure. He stated that he will collaborate with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and GOP leadership on timing.
However, the mere introduction of the legislation represents a strong rebuke of Omar, who has previously faced criticism from Republicans.
“It’s unacceptable to say, calling Jewish Americans that are Americans, calling them pro-genocide,” Bacon informed reporters on Tuesday. “It’s just unacceptable. So I want to take a bold stand.”
The Hill contacted Omar for a comment.
Omar — one of three Muslim lawmakers in Congress — faced backlash last month for stating at Columbia University that Jewish students are either “pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
“I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe, and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide,” she said when asked about antisemitism on campus.
Omar’s comments were met with widespread condemnation. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) accused Omar of “encouraging violence against Jewish students” while “embracing pro-terrorists extremists,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) stated “it’s not the language I would use” when asked about her comments, and the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) characterized the remarks as “abhorrent.”
“It is abhorrent that a sitting member of Congress would slander an entire group of young people in such a cold, calculated manner. This is how people get killed,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X.
The comments came amid explosive pro-Palestine protests on Columbia’s Manhattan campus and at other universities nationwide, which have pitted Republicans against Democrats — and centrist Democrats against progressives.
A group of Jewish House Democrats, for example, visited Columbia University to speak with Jewish students, while Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) met with the protesters.
The outcry over Omar’s comments last month marks the latest instance of her finding herself at odds with her GOP colleagues.
Emmer called for an Ethics investigation into Omar in January over a disputed translation of her remarks about Somalia and Somaliland, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) moved to force a vote on a resolution to censure her for those remarks. That measure, however, never hit the floor for a vote.
Last year, House Republicans voted to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee for making comments that lawmakers had deemed antisemitic.
