Faisal Ali
THE GUARDIAN
Mon, February 5, 2024
Representative Ilhan Omar speaks at the Capitol in Washington DC on 25 January 2023.
Mon, February 5, 2024
Representative Ilhan Omar speaks at the Capitol in Washington DC on 25 January 2023.
Photograph: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
A week after a mistranslated clip of Ilhan Omar sparked outrage online, some far-right House Republicans are still following through with calls for the progressive lawmaker to be censured. And the repercussions of the misinformation extend beyond the country.
The Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, has gone furthest in her response to the clip, calling Omar a “foreign agent in our government”. Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America.”
Greene said she would introduce a censure bill which could see the Minnesota Democrat removed from the remaining committees she serves, a year after Omar was forced out of the foreign affairs committee by Republicans for her criticism of Israel. The bill was on the House agenda Monday, though it is unlikely to move past political stunt.
Omar, a Somali American congresswoman, had been filmed delivering a speech at a hotel in Minneapolis on 27 January where she addressed members of her constituency on a recent agreement reached between the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland and Ethiopia in early January, which bypassed Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu.
The preliminary deal, termed a memorandum of understanding, would see Somaliland lease Ethiopia a naval base on the Gulf of Aden and grant it widened access to its Berbera port. In exchange, Somaliland officials claim, Ethiopia would become the first country to recognise its independence unilaterally from Somalia.
In an interview with the Observer, an adviser to Somalia’s president warned that Somalia was ready for war with Ethiopia if it doesn’t reverse course on the deal.
A video of the speech was circulated soon after on X by Rhoda Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister. The video’s translation wrongly claimed Omar had said she was “Somalian first and Muslim second”.
Mocking the faulty translation, Omar pointed out that the demonym for someone from Somalia is Somali, not Somalian. “If you are gonna talk about us, at least try to get our ethnicity right,” she posted on X.
The video, which has been viewed at least 4.5m times, also misquoted Omar as saying she would “liberate” Somali territories, which were “occupied” by neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, a polarising issue among Somalis, some of whom weren’t satisfied with the post-colonial settlement when the Horn of Africa was partitioned by Italy, France and the UK.
Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, took umbrage at the Minnesota lawmaker’s purported remarks about her position on the memorandum and Somalia’s relations with its neighbours, accusing her of “ethno-racist rhetoric”.
Omar defended her comments in the days that followed, saying the subtitles in the video were “not only slanted but completely off”, expressing her support for the government of Somalia, where she was born, as it finds itself embroiled in standoff with Ethiopia.
Omar vowed to thwart the deal, which the US has also expressed concerns over, telling people at the gathering in Minneapolis: “For as long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”
Several Somalis also posted on X about the errors in the subtitles, including the translator and author Aziz Mahdi, who objected to Omar’s remarks but said: “The translation offered fails to accurately convey the essence of her talk, leading to a distorted understanding of her message. So don’t cite it.”
The Minnesota Reformer, a Minnesota-based news outlet, worked with two independent Somali translators who recorded Omar as saying: “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim”, not that she was “Somalians first” as the video suggested.
Abdirashid Hashi, a former Somali government minister, called on Elmi to retract the video and issue an apology.
Despite attempts to clarify Omar’s message, several Republicans and rightwing figures seized upon the video without verifying the misleading translation, to launch a fresh attack on Omar, including Elon Musk, whose own ties with third countries were questioned by Joe Biden. On his X account, Musk posted: “The United States or another country. Pick one.”
Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, called for Omar’s denaturalization and deportation, while Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, decried her comments as a “slap in the face” to her constituents and called for an ethics investigation into her remarks.
The Greene censure bill could be a further thorn in the congresswoman’s side, but Omar shrugged it off on Thursday. “I truly do not care about what that insane woman does,” she said, according to Politico.
And her party is standing behind her. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, criticised the move as a “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us”.
McGovern slams Greene for going after Mayorkas, Omar: ‘The clowns are running the circus’
A week after a mistranslated clip of Ilhan Omar sparked outrage online, some far-right House Republicans are still following through with calls for the progressive lawmaker to be censured. And the repercussions of the misinformation extend beyond the country.
The Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, has gone furthest in her response to the clip, calling Omar a “foreign agent in our government”. Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America.”
Greene said she would introduce a censure bill which could see the Minnesota Democrat removed from the remaining committees she serves, a year after Omar was forced out of the foreign affairs committee by Republicans for her criticism of Israel. The bill was on the House agenda Monday, though it is unlikely to move past political stunt.
Omar, a Somali American congresswoman, had been filmed delivering a speech at a hotel in Minneapolis on 27 January where she addressed members of her constituency on a recent agreement reached between the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland and Ethiopia in early January, which bypassed Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu.
The preliminary deal, termed a memorandum of understanding, would see Somaliland lease Ethiopia a naval base on the Gulf of Aden and grant it widened access to its Berbera port. In exchange, Somaliland officials claim, Ethiopia would become the first country to recognise its independence unilaterally from Somalia.
In an interview with the Observer, an adviser to Somalia’s president warned that Somalia was ready for war with Ethiopia if it doesn’t reverse course on the deal.
A video of the speech was circulated soon after on X by Rhoda Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister. The video’s translation wrongly claimed Omar had said she was “Somalian first and Muslim second”.
Mocking the faulty translation, Omar pointed out that the demonym for someone from Somalia is Somali, not Somalian. “If you are gonna talk about us, at least try to get our ethnicity right,” she posted on X.
The video, which has been viewed at least 4.5m times, also misquoted Omar as saying she would “liberate” Somali territories, which were “occupied” by neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, a polarising issue among Somalis, some of whom weren’t satisfied with the post-colonial settlement when the Horn of Africa was partitioned by Italy, France and the UK.
Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, took umbrage at the Minnesota lawmaker’s purported remarks about her position on the memorandum and Somalia’s relations with its neighbours, accusing her of “ethno-racist rhetoric”.
Omar defended her comments in the days that followed, saying the subtitles in the video were “not only slanted but completely off”, expressing her support for the government of Somalia, where she was born, as it finds itself embroiled in standoff with Ethiopia.
Omar vowed to thwart the deal, which the US has also expressed concerns over, telling people at the gathering in Minneapolis: “For as long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”
Several Somalis also posted on X about the errors in the subtitles, including the translator and author Aziz Mahdi, who objected to Omar’s remarks but said: “The translation offered fails to accurately convey the essence of her talk, leading to a distorted understanding of her message. So don’t cite it.”
The Minnesota Reformer, a Minnesota-based news outlet, worked with two independent Somali translators who recorded Omar as saying: “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim”, not that she was “Somalians first” as the video suggested.
Abdirashid Hashi, a former Somali government minister, called on Elmi to retract the video and issue an apology.
Despite attempts to clarify Omar’s message, several Republicans and rightwing figures seized upon the video without verifying the misleading translation, to launch a fresh attack on Omar, including Elon Musk, whose own ties with third countries were questioned by Joe Biden. On his X account, Musk posted: “The United States or another country. Pick one.”
Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, called for Omar’s denaturalization and deportation, while Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, decried her comments as a “slap in the face” to her constituents and called for an ethics investigation into her remarks.
The Greene censure bill could be a further thorn in the congresswoman’s side, but Omar shrugged it off on Thursday. “I truly do not care about what that insane woman does,” she said, according to Politico.
And her party is standing behind her. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, criticised the move as a “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us”.
McGovern slams Greene for going after Mayorkas, Omar: ‘The clowns are running the circus’
Miranda Nazzaro
THE HILL
Mon, February 5, 2024
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) on Monday called Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) the “leader” of a “charade” over her efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
“The clowns are running the circus around here,” McGovern, the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, said during a committee hearing Monday. “And we’re wasting hours of time this week on Marjorie Taylor Greene because what? She wants to impeach somebody? And don’t even get me started on her absurd censure resolution of Congresswoman Omar that she introduced because she doesn’t know how to use Google Translate.”
McGovern was speaking during a committee hearing on H.R. Res 863, a resolution introduced by Greene last year to impeach Mayorkas “for high crimes and misdemeanors,” including an alleged failure to secure the border and detain all illegal migrants.
She called off the vote for this resolution in November after she said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) assured her the House would push forward with proceedings against Mayorkas. The House Homeland Security Committee advanced the resolution last week.
McGovern on Monday contended House lawmakers could be debating and voting on a border security package, but they cannot because Greene “is in charge, and Speaker Johnson is terrified of her and her MAGA extremist friends.”
Greene’s “legislative agenda is revenge, retaliation and impeachment. She’s introduced — get this — 20 pieces of legislation this Congress … 20. And 10 of them are to impeach or censure people she doesn’t like,” McGovern said.
“And to see this committee, this institution be so totally perverted by this garbage makes me sad,” he added later.
Greene last week said she “absolutely” deserves credit for House Republicans pushing forward with impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas after she moved to force votes on his impeachment last year.
The Georgia Republican is separately spearheading an attempt to censure Omar following a disputed translation of comments the Minnesota representative made about Somalia and Somalians. Greene accused Omar of being a “foreign agent” and called her censure legislation to the floor last week as a privileged resolution. This procedural gambit forces leadership to hold a vote within two legislative days.
This censure attempt comes just months after she introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her comments condemning Israel for its response to Hamas and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A separate censure resolution of Tlaib was sponsored by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) around the same time and eventually approved by the House.
Earlier in the meeting, McGovern hypothetically asked if Greene is in House leadership amid her various efforts and touched upon some of the lawmaker’s past controversies.
“Is she now the majority leader? Marjorie Taylor Greene? Someone who probably speaks at white supremacist rallies, someone who promotes Holocaust deniers, someone who compares Joe Biden to Adolf Hitler and who says COVID mask requirements are the same thing as Nazi gas chambers? Someone who says wildfires are caused by Jewish space lasers and that 9/11 was an inside job?” McGovern said. “That’s the person that you put in charge of this whole Republican agenda right now?”
Greene responded to McGovern’s criticism on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, “Wow this is coming from the same guy who is well known to lay his suit jacket on the actual bathroom floor while spending a lot of time in the stall of the first floor bathroom of the Capitol.”
“Eww. That’s probably when he comes up with all this [poop emoji],” she added.
McGovern quipped back on X, writing, “No idea what you’re talking about…what are you doing in the men’s bathroom aren’t you late for a klan meeting?”
Mon, February 5, 2024
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) on Monday called Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) the “leader” of a “charade” over her efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
“The clowns are running the circus around here,” McGovern, the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, said during a committee hearing Monday. “And we’re wasting hours of time this week on Marjorie Taylor Greene because what? She wants to impeach somebody? And don’t even get me started on her absurd censure resolution of Congresswoman Omar that she introduced because she doesn’t know how to use Google Translate.”
McGovern was speaking during a committee hearing on H.R. Res 863, a resolution introduced by Greene last year to impeach Mayorkas “for high crimes and misdemeanors,” including an alleged failure to secure the border and detain all illegal migrants.
She called off the vote for this resolution in November after she said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) assured her the House would push forward with proceedings against Mayorkas. The House Homeland Security Committee advanced the resolution last week.
McGovern on Monday contended House lawmakers could be debating and voting on a border security package, but they cannot because Greene “is in charge, and Speaker Johnson is terrified of her and her MAGA extremist friends.”
Greene’s “legislative agenda is revenge, retaliation and impeachment. She’s introduced — get this — 20 pieces of legislation this Congress … 20. And 10 of them are to impeach or censure people she doesn’t like,” McGovern said.
“And to see this committee, this institution be so totally perverted by this garbage makes me sad,” he added later.
Greene last week said she “absolutely” deserves credit for House Republicans pushing forward with impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas after she moved to force votes on his impeachment last year.
The Georgia Republican is separately spearheading an attempt to censure Omar following a disputed translation of comments the Minnesota representative made about Somalia and Somalians. Greene accused Omar of being a “foreign agent” and called her censure legislation to the floor last week as a privileged resolution. This procedural gambit forces leadership to hold a vote within two legislative days.
This censure attempt comes just months after she introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her comments condemning Israel for its response to Hamas and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A separate censure resolution of Tlaib was sponsored by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) around the same time and eventually approved by the House.
Earlier in the meeting, McGovern hypothetically asked if Greene is in House leadership amid her various efforts and touched upon some of the lawmaker’s past controversies.
“Is she now the majority leader? Marjorie Taylor Greene? Someone who probably speaks at white supremacist rallies, someone who promotes Holocaust deniers, someone who compares Joe Biden to Adolf Hitler and who says COVID mask requirements are the same thing as Nazi gas chambers? Someone who says wildfires are caused by Jewish space lasers and that 9/11 was an inside job?” McGovern said. “That’s the person that you put in charge of this whole Republican agenda right now?”
Greene responded to McGovern’s criticism on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, “Wow this is coming from the same guy who is well known to lay his suit jacket on the actual bathroom floor while spending a lot of time in the stall of the first floor bathroom of the Capitol.”
“Eww. That’s probably when he comes up with all this [poop emoji],” she added.
McGovern quipped back on X, writing, “No idea what you’re talking about…what are you doing in the men’s bathroom aren’t you late for a klan meeting?”
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