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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) walks through the U.S. Capitol on December 2, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
With Rep. Ilhan Omar reportedly facing mounting death threats following racist comments from Rep. Lauren Boebert comparing Omar to a terrorist, progressive lawmakers on Wednesday signaled that they were losing patience with the Democratic leadership's failure to hold the right-wing lawmaker accountable, as Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced a resolution calling for Boebert to be stripped of her committee assignments.
Pressley (D-Mass.) was joined by nearly a dozen co-sponsors in introducing the resolution, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), all of whom have demanded House leaders take decisive action to make clear that racist attacks on lawmakers won't be tolerated in the House.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country."
The failure of House leaders to hold Boebert accountable could endanger Muslims across the U.S., including Omar (D-Minn.), Pressley said Wednesday.
"For a member of Congress to repeatedly use hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic tropes towards a Muslim colleague is dangerous. It has no place in our society and it diminishes the honor of the institution we serve in," said Pressley. "Without meaningful accountability for that member's actions, we risk normalizing this behavior and endangering the lives of our Muslim colleagues, Muslim staffers, and every Muslim who calls America home."
"The House must unequivocally condemn this incendiary rhetoric and immediately pass this resolution," she continued. "How we respond in moments like these will have lasting impacts, and history will remember us for it."
Pressley introduced the resolution less than 24 hours after MSNBCaired a clip of Boebert explicitly calling Omar "a terrorist" in a November 22 interview on One America News (OAN), the extreme right-wing media outlet. That interview took place days before the Colorado Republican posted a video in which she falsely told a crowd that Omar was mistaken for a suicide bomber by Capitol Police.
"It gets worse every day," Jeremy Slevin, senior communications director for Omar, said of the OAN clip.
\u201cNew Video: @JoyAnnReid unearths clip of Boebert calling @IlhanMN a literal \u201cterrorist\u201d\u2014the same week she told the fabricated story suggesting Rep. Omar was a suicide bomber. It gets worse every day.\u201d— Jeremy Slevin (@Jeremy Slevin) 1638928893
Also on Wednesday, more than 400 Capitol Hill staffers--including more than 50 who are Muslim--wrote to House leaders demanding that the Democratic Party "categorically reject" Boebert's "incendiary rhetoric."
"The recent remarks by Rep. Boebert have heightened the climate of Islamophobia on the Hill, creating a feeling of anxiety and fear for many Muslim staff, our families, and communities, and leaving many of us to look to our congressional leaders for support," wrote the staffers.
Progressives are arguing that House Democrats' response to Boebert's conduct should be no different than the actions that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took last month after Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) posted an animated video depicting Ocasio-Cortez being murdered and earlier this year after past comments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) surfaced in which Greene mocked a school shooting survivor and supported violence against Democrats. Both Republicans were removed from their committee assignments.
While Omar said Tuesday that she has secured a "commitment" from Pelosi "that something will get done," and expressed hope that leaders will soon make clear that the party won't accept racism from Republican members, Ocasio-Cortez expressed impatience.
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"I haven't heard anything binding from leadership, which in and of itself is an embarrassment," Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill. "This shouldn't take this long; this should not drag on. It's pretty simple. It doesn't have to be a big huge thing. It's pretty open and closed."
The New York Democrat rejected a proposal that's reportedly been put forward by some Democrats to pass a resolution condemning Islamophobia in general without denouncing Boebert, telling The Hill, "She needs to be held accountable for her actions."
Pelosi has expressed hostility regarding the suggestion that the Democratic Party should take action against a Republican whose comments have been linked to death threats against a member of her caucus, telling a CNN reporter Wednesday, "It's the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members" and "scolding" reporters for asking about the issue.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country," Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill Tuesday. "So if nothing happens, that's the message we are sending, which is why we have to continue to push to have her removed from committee."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
With Rep. Ilhan Omar reportedly facing mounting death threats following racist comments from Rep. Lauren Boebert comparing Omar to a terrorist, progressive lawmakers on Wednesday signaled that they were losing patience with the Democratic leadership's failure to hold the right-wing lawmaker accountable, as Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced a resolution calling for Boebert to be stripped of her committee assignments.
Pressley (D-Mass.) was joined by nearly a dozen co-sponsors in introducing the resolution, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), all of whom have demanded House leaders take decisive action to make clear that racist attacks on lawmakers won't be tolerated in the House.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country."
The failure of House leaders to hold Boebert accountable could endanger Muslims across the U.S., including Omar (D-Minn.), Pressley said Wednesday.
"For a member of Congress to repeatedly use hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic tropes towards a Muslim colleague is dangerous. It has no place in our society and it diminishes the honor of the institution we serve in," said Pressley. "Without meaningful accountability for that member's actions, we risk normalizing this behavior and endangering the lives of our Muslim colleagues, Muslim staffers, and every Muslim who calls America home."
"The House must unequivocally condemn this incendiary rhetoric and immediately pass this resolution," she continued. "How we respond in moments like these will have lasting impacts, and history will remember us for it."
Pressley introduced the resolution less than 24 hours after MSNBCaired a clip of Boebert explicitly calling Omar "a terrorist" in a November 22 interview on One America News (OAN), the extreme right-wing media outlet. That interview took place days before the Colorado Republican posted a video in which she falsely told a crowd that Omar was mistaken for a suicide bomber by Capitol Police.
"It gets worse every day," Jeremy Slevin, senior communications director for Omar, said of the OAN clip.
\u201cNew Video: @JoyAnnReid unearths clip of Boebert calling @IlhanMN a literal \u201cterrorist\u201d\u2014the same week she told the fabricated story suggesting Rep. Omar was a suicide bomber. It gets worse every day.\u201d— Jeremy Slevin (@Jeremy Slevin) 1638928893
Also on Wednesday, more than 400 Capitol Hill staffers--including more than 50 who are Muslim--wrote to House leaders demanding that the Democratic Party "categorically reject" Boebert's "incendiary rhetoric."
"The recent remarks by Rep. Boebert have heightened the climate of Islamophobia on the Hill, creating a feeling of anxiety and fear for many Muslim staff, our families, and communities, and leaving many of us to look to our congressional leaders for support," wrote the staffers.
Progressives are arguing that House Democrats' response to Boebert's conduct should be no different than the actions that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took last month after Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) posted an animated video depicting Ocasio-Cortez being murdered and earlier this year after past comments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) surfaced in which Greene mocked a school shooting survivor and supported violence against Democrats. Both Republicans were removed from their committee assignments.
While Omar said Tuesday that she has secured a "commitment" from Pelosi "that something will get done," and expressed hope that leaders will soon make clear that the party won't accept racism from Republican members, Ocasio-Cortez expressed impatience.
Related Content
"I haven't heard anything binding from leadership, which in and of itself is an embarrassment," Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill. "This shouldn't take this long; this should not drag on. It's pretty simple. It doesn't have to be a big huge thing. It's pretty open and closed."
The New York Democrat rejected a proposal that's reportedly been put forward by some Democrats to pass a resolution condemning Islamophobia in general without denouncing Boebert, telling The Hill, "She needs to be held accountable for her actions."
Pelosi has expressed hostility regarding the suggestion that the Democratic Party should take action against a Republican whose comments have been linked to death threats against a member of her caucus, telling a CNN reporter Wednesday, "It's the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members" and "scolding" reporters for asking about the issue.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country," Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill Tuesday. "So if nothing happens, that's the message we are sending, which is why we have to continue to push to have her removed from committee."
With Rep. Ilhan Omar reportedly facing mounting death threats following racist comments from Rep. Lauren Boebert comparing Omar to a terrorist, progressive lawmakers on Wednesday signaled that they were losing patience with the Democratic leadership's failure to hold the right-wing lawmaker accountable, as Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced a resolution calling for Boebert to be stripped of her committee assignments.
Pressley (D-Mass.) was joined by nearly a dozen co-sponsors in introducing the resolution, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), all of whom have demanded House leaders take decisive action to make clear that racist attacks on lawmakers won't be tolerated in the House.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country."
The failure of House leaders to hold Boebert accountable could endanger Muslims across the U.S., including Omar (D-Minn.), Pressley said Wednesday.
"For a member of Congress to repeatedly use hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic tropes towards a Muslim colleague is dangerous. It has no place in our society and it diminishes the honor of the institution we serve in," said Pressley. "Without meaningful accountability for that member's actions, we risk normalizing this behavior and endangering the lives of our Muslim colleagues, Muslim staffers, and every Muslim who calls America home."
"The House must unequivocally condemn this incendiary rhetoric and immediately pass this resolution," she continued. "How we respond in moments like these will have lasting impacts, and history will remember us for it."
Pressley introduced the resolution less than 24 hours after MSNBCaired a clip of Boebert explicitly calling Omar "a terrorist" in a November 22 interview on One America News (OAN), the extreme right-wing media outlet. That interview took place days before the Colorado Republican posted a video in which she falsely told a crowd that Omar was mistaken for a suicide bomber by Capitol Police.
"It gets worse every day," Jeremy Slevin, senior communications director for Omar, said of the OAN clip.
\u201cNew Video: @JoyAnnReid unearths clip of Boebert calling @IlhanMN a literal \u201cterrorist\u201d\u2014the same week she told the fabricated story suggesting Rep. Omar was a suicide bomber. It gets worse every day.\u201d— Jeremy Slevin (@Jeremy Slevin) 1638928893
Also on Wednesday, more than 400 Capitol Hill staffers--including more than 50 who are Muslim--wrote to House leaders demanding that the Democratic Party "categorically reject" Boebert's "incendiary rhetoric."
"The recent remarks by Rep. Boebert have heightened the climate of Islamophobia on the Hill, creating a feeling of anxiety and fear for many Muslim staff, our families, and communities, and leaving many of us to look to our congressional leaders for support," wrote the staffers.
Progressives are arguing that House Democrats' response to Boebert's conduct should be no different than the actions that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took last month after Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) posted an animated video depicting Ocasio-Cortez being murdered and earlier this year after past comments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) surfaced in which Greene mocked a school shooting survivor and supported violence against Democrats. Both Republicans were removed from their committee assignments.
While Omar said Tuesday that she has secured a "commitment" from Pelosi "that something will get done," and expressed hope that leaders will soon make clear that the party won't accept racism from Republican members, Ocasio-Cortez expressed impatience.
Related Content
"I haven't heard anything binding from leadership, which in and of itself is an embarrassment," Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill. "This shouldn't take this long; this should not drag on. It's pretty simple. It doesn't have to be a big huge thing. It's pretty open and closed."
The New York Democrat rejected a proposal that's reportedly been put forward by some Democrats to pass a resolution condemning Islamophobia in general without denouncing Boebert, telling The Hill, "She needs to be held accountable for her actions."
Pelosi has expressed hostility regarding the suggestion that the Democratic Party should take action against a Republican whose comments have been linked to death threats against a member of her caucus, telling a CNN reporter Wednesday, "It's the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members" and "scolding" reporters for asking about the issue.
"If nothing happens, it means we're accepting anti-Muslim hate in Congress and we're accepting and condoning anti-Muslim hate across the country," Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill Tuesday. "So if nothing happens, that's the message we are sending, which is why we have to continue to push to have her removed from committee."
"Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line," wrote one union.
In what one outlet has reported is slated to be the largest single-day action to resist the Trump administration since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are planning to mobilize on Saturday to say: "Hands Off!"
A list of locations for the events, which are not all slated to start at the same time on Saturday, can be found here.
Trump and Musk "think this country belongs to them," according to a website for the Hands Off! events. "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history."
"They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They're handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich," according to the website's about page, which also notes nonviolent action is a "core principle" behind the events.
A spokesperson for the events told Common Dreams on Friday afternoon that the events have generated over 500,000 signups nationally, a number that is "growing rapidly," and there are over 1,000 events taking place on Saturday, a number that is "also growing steadily."
The actions are the latest warning sign for the Republican Party under Trump, who has allowed Elon Musk to play a core role in his administration, particularly in the administration's efforts to carry out cuts to federal personnel and spending.
Musk poured millions of dollars into a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election that took place on April 1—helping to make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history by one tally—only to have his preferred candidate, judge Brad Schimel, lose.
"This is a huge signal from a battleground state that Americans are genuinely upset, genuinely angry, I think, with Trump and with Musk," said John Nichols, a correspondent for That Nation, when recapping the outcome of the race on Democracy Now!
Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—are supporting the action as partners.
"People nationwide are rising up at hundreds of events to say one thing loud and clear: Hands Off!" wrote SEIU on the platform X, which is owned by Musk, on Friday. "Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line."
The environmentalist iIll McKibben wrote on Bluesky on Wednesday: "Expect to see a lot of gray hair at the April 5 Hands Off rallies—we've been organizing like crazy at Third Act," a group that mobilizes Americans over the age of 60.
In early February, anti-Trump "Movement 50501" protests took place nationwide and protestors united under the slogan #TakedownTesla have also targeted Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, in recent weeks.
One union leader called President Donald Trump's executive order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States."
A coalition of labor unions representing federal workers across the United States sued the Trump administration on Friday over its recent order aimed at stripping union rights from more than a million government employees, a move that the lawsuit characterizes as a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
The suit, brought by unions that collectively represent more than 950,000 federal workers, stems from a March 27 order titled "Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs," in which President Donald Trump cites a provision of a 1978 law to deny collective bargaining rights to certain government workers on national security grounds.
But the unions behind the new lawsuit say the national security justification is a smokescreen to hide the true intent of the order: further eroding workers' organizing rights.
"Federal employees have had the right to join a union and bargain collectively for decades—through multiple wars, international conflicts, and a global health emergency during President Trump's first term," said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "During all that time, they served the American people with honor and distinction. No one, including President Trump, ever suggested unions were a national security concern."
"Trump's newest order to revoke union rights is a clear case of retaliation," he added. "But I've got news for him: We are not going anywhere."
The lawsuit points specifically to language included in a fact sheet the White House released in conjunction with Trump's March 27 order. The document claims that "certain federal unions have declared war on President Trump's agenda," citing AFGE lawsuits against the administration and legal actions by Veterans Affairs unions.
Shortly after Trump signed the order last week, the administration sued AFGE and many of its local affiliates in federal court in an attempt to cancel dozens of collective bargaining agreements between unions and federal agencies. Reuters noted that the administration claimed the union contracts are impeding "Trump's abilities to purge the federal workforce and protect national security."
"The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration's union-busting tactics silence us."
The unions' new lawsuit states that the "avowedly retaliatory nature" of Trump's executive order and its "attempt to punish federal unions who engage in politically disfavored speech and petitioning activities and decline to 'work with' the president renders it unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
The lawsuit also notes that billionaire Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a top Trump lieutenant, has used his social media platform to promote a recent post that attacked several federal workers' unions by name.
"The president's unlawful executive order attacking federal unions is not only an attack on a million federal workers but is a direct attack on all workers who seek a collective voice to bargain for a better future," April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Friday. "This is blatant retaliation against brave workers who dared to exercise their First Amendment rights to criticize this administration's authoritarian overreach. The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration’s union-busting tactics silence us."
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), called Trump's order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States" and said it is "clear that this executive order is retaliation for federal unions fighting back against the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the civil service."
"This is yet another direct attack by the President not only on federal employees, but also veterans, working families, and the very fabric of our democracy," said Erwin. "However, federal workers' collective bargaining rights are protected by law and President Trump does not have the right to unilaterally eliminate them. NFFE and our allies are confident the rule of law will be upheld, and the critical rights of working people will be protected."
"What AOC is doing is leadership—and people see that," said one observer.
A poll released Friday from the progressive think tank Data for Progress has Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez besting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a Democrat, by 19 points in a hypothetical matchup in the 2028 New York primary for a U.S. Senate seat.
According to the poll, which was was first shared exclusively with Politico, 55% of voters said they would cast a ballot for Ocasio-Cortez or leaned toward supporting her, and 36% said they would support Schumer or leaned toward supporting him, with 9% undecided.
The only subgroup that supported Schumer over Ocasio-Cortez were moderates, who favored Schumer 50%-35%, with 15% undecided. Ocasio-Cortez carried all other subgroups with an outright majority, except for voters over the age of 45, 49% of whom said they would support her or leaned toward supporting her.
The poll—while several years out from the actual race—comes in the wake of Schumer's decision to throw his support behind a Republican-backed spending bill in early March, a move that roiled his own party and prompted calls for him to step aside from his leadership position in the Senate.
The episode also sparked murmurs among some Democrats that Ocasio-Cortez should consider a primary bid against Schumer in 2028.
The poll was conducted March 26-31 and surveyed 767 likely Democratic primary voters in New York state. According to Data for Progress, the polling indicated that the hypothetical matchup between Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer is "relatively static" and does not shift when voters are offered more information about the respective candidates.
Ocasio-Cortez recently declined to speak about a potential run for Senate in 2028, according to Politico.
"Replacing Chuck Schumer with AOC would be an incredible upgrade. I guess we'll have to wait four more years…," wrote Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation.
Zephyr Teachout, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law, shared Politico's reporting on the poll and wrote: "Good morning to leadership and fighting oligarchy!"
"What I mean is that what AOC is doing is leadership—and people see that," added Teachout, who also highlighted that the poll found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, 84%, want their leaders to do more to resist the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Another observer, market researcher Adam Carlson, highlighted that despite Schumer's loss in the hypothetical race, most respondent subgroups still view him favorably, according to the poll. Besides "very liberal" voters and those between ages 18-44, Schumer stands at over 50% "favorable" among all other subgroups surveyed.
"People just want a changing of the guard," said Carlson.