House Democrats To Advance Legislation Creating A Special Envoy To Combat Islamophobia

Democrats in the House will reportedly advance legislation pushed by Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that will create a special envoy within the State Department to monitor and combat Islamophobia.

The bill, which Omar first brought to the forefront in July, appears to be getting action in response to recent comments made by Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO).

A video surfaced over Thanksgiving break in which Boebert made an ill-advised joke that she and Omar had been on an elevator together when a Capitol police officer ran toward them “with fret all over his face.”

“I said, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,'” Boebert claimed.

Omar, despite a subsequent apology from Boebert and a phone call reaching out to resolve the matter, called on Republican leadership to punish Boebert.

Over the Thanksgiving break, Lauren Boebert said she was recently in a Capitol elevator with Ilhan Omar when a fretful Capitol police officer ran up.

Lauren Boebert said: “Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine.”

Boebert then called Ilhan Omar, “jihad squad.” pic.twitter.com/Y7f0nFbnud

— PatriotTakes ?? (@patriottakes) November 25, 2021

RELATED: Omar Confident Pelosi Will Take ‘Decisive Action’ Against Boebert Over Terrorist Joke

Islamophobia

Omar over the weekend told CNN’s Jake Tapper that punishment for Boebert would be forthcoming.

“I’ve had a conversation with the speaker,” she said. “I’m very confident that she will take decisive action next week.”

The bill that could create a special envoy to combat Islamophobia is set to get voted out of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, with a final floor vote that could come as soon as the end of the year.

It would then move on to the Senate and, if passed there, on to President Biden’s desk.

“Moving forward this legislation that addresses the rise in incidents of Islamophobia worldwide … comes as Pelosi has been facing increasing pressure from members within her own party to take aggressive action against Boebert,” CNN reports.

Omar and Pelosi reportedly spoke about the legislation over the phone.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and 24 other members of Congress asked the State Department on Wednesday to create a special envoy to combat Islamophobia amid a rise in discrimination against Muslims on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/Wq1xnA2tiM

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 22, 2021

RELATED: Trump Slams ‘Squad’ Member Ilhan Omar For Fraud And ‘Marrying Her Brother’

More Punishment For Boebert

Politico adds that House Democrats, aside from considering the bill to create a special envoy to combat Islamophobia, will consider referring Boebert to the House Ethics Committee.

Additionally Pelosi, according to the outlet, “has privately told Omar that stripping committees is still on the table.”

The House Speaker famously did very little to Omar when the Minnesota Democrat consistently and repeatedly made anti-Semitic comments before and after entering Congress.

In fact, in 2019 House Democrats voted on an ‘anti-hate’ resolution in response to Omar’s inflammatory comments, refusing to specifically condemn or punish her.

It was so watered down that Omar shared celebratory hugs with her colleagues on the House floor after voting in favor of it!

Now AOC, Omar and Jayapal huddling on the floor, shared a good laugh over something

— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) March 7, 2019

Come to think of it, why doesn’t that ‘anti-hate’ resolution hold today? If it was effective, it surely would have been applicable to today’s situation. Why bother with these latest sham punishment votes for Republicans?

This past spring, House Republicans introduced a resolution seeking to censure Omar and other members of the ‘Squad’ for comments backing “the actions of a recognized terrorist organization.”

As you might imagine, that effort went absolutely nowhere.

‘ENOUGH’: Republicans Introduce Bill to Censure Omar, ‘Squad’ for Anti-Israeli Rhetoric https://t.co/wngT0nPRpS

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 14, 2021

Former President Donald Trump has argued that it’s actually Omar who should be apologizing as opposed to Boebert.

“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should apologize for marrying her brother, committing large-scale immigration and election fraud, wishing death to Israel, and for essentially abandoning her former country, which doesn’t even have a government,” he said in a statement.

Pelosi meanwhile, dodged on whether or not they would move forward with the anti-Islamophobia legislation.

“It’s the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members,” she said.

Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who was censured by the House and removed from his committee assignments over a parody cartoon video, and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was stripped from her committee assignments for ill-advised social media posts made prior to her election to office, were punished almost exclusively by Democrats.