Pence on push to remove Omar from committee: Steve King saw ‘consequences’

Vice President Pence doubled down on his criticism of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) recent statements about Israel, saying she should be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“I think it was right for Democrat leaders to condemn those remarks, but I think it’s important that people that articulate anti-Semitic views are also held accountable. The Republican leadership was right to condemn Steven King’s remarks and also to remove him from the committee,” he said in an exclusive interview on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

{mosads}“There were consequences to what he said, and unless Rep. Omar resigns from Congress, at minimum Democrat leaders should remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”

Pence first slammed Omar Tuesday, tweeting, “Those who engage in anti-Semitic tropes should not just be denounced, they should face consequences for their words.”

Omar apologized Monday for comments suggesting that U.S. support for Israel is fueled by donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an influential pro-Israel lobbying group. In her apology she said her “intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders were quick to condemn the comments, ripping them as employing “anti-Semitic tropes” that are “deeply offensive.”

But Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) clarified that Omar would not lose her committee assignments.

Republicans in the House stripped Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) of his committee assignments last month after King asked The New York Times in an interview, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”

King had served on the House Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees. The Agriculture panel was considered a high-profile role for King, who represents a state that relies heavily on farming.

The Iowa released a letter Tuesday from over 200 supporters asking House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to reinstate his committee assignments.