Pence: If Ilhan Omar Doesn’t Resign, ‘At Minimum’ She Should Be Removed from Foreign Affairs Committee

MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell spoke with Vice President Mike Pence in Poland about his tweet Tuesday night denouncing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Pence tweeted that Omar’s apology was insufficient and said, “Those who engage in anti-Semitic tropes should not just be denounced, they should face consequences for their words.”

.@IlhanMN tweets were a disgrace & her apology was inadequate. Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress, much less the Foreign Affairs Committee. Those who engage in anti-Semitic tropes should not just be denounced, they should face consequences for their words.

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 13, 2019

Mitchell reported last night that Pence wants Omar removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She asked Pence about his tweet on Wednesday, saying, “Republicans were very slow to go and punish Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who is historically critical of Hispanic-Americans. And the President’s Muslim ban. Can you understand how that creates a climate of toxicity in all directions?”

Pence called Omar’s tweets “a disgrace” and said anti-Semitism has no place in the free world. He credited Democratic leaders for condemning her tweets but added Omar should be held accountable:

“The Republican leadership was right to condemn Steve King’s remarks and also to remove him from the committee. There were consequences to what he said. And unless Representative Omar resigns from Congress, at minimum Democrat leaders should remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I served on that committee for more than a decade, Andrea. One of the things that always united that committee was strong support for our relationship with Israel and a strong condemnation of anti-Semitism.”

Mitchell followed up by asking again about Trump’s campaign calls to ban all Muslims. At the time Pence tweeted this:

Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.

— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) December 8, 2015

Today he said, “The President’s instituted a travel ban for the security of the United States of America. It represents extreme vetting, to ensure people coming into our country––whatever their background and from whatever nation––represent not a threat to the people of our country. And that’s been upheld all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and we’ll always put the safety and security of the American people first.”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

[image via screengrab]

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