GOP leader urges Dems to call out ‘anti-Semitic tropes’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday called on Democratic leaders to speak out against anti-Semitic language after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) sparked backlash with a tweet suggesting that a pro-Israel lobbying group was buying off lawmakers.

“Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress,” McCarthy tweeted. “It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language.”

The Republican added that one of his “greatest honors” is leading new members on a bipartisan trip to Israel.

Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress. It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) February 11, 2019

{mosads}McCarthy’s tweets did not directly mention Omar, but came within a couple hours of the freshman Democrat’s comments.

Earlier Sunday evening, Omar responded to a question about who she “thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel” by saying “AIPAC!” The tweet was referencing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.

Omar also retweeted journalist Glenn Greenwald’s response to a story about McCarthy promising “action” toward the Minnesota lawmaker and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over their alleged anti-Semitism. She captioned that retweet with the message “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” referring to money.

The comments sparked criticism, including among Democrats. Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) called Omar’s tweets “deeply hurtful to Jews” and “unacceptable.”

Republicans have seized on some of Omar’s past comments critical of Israel to levy allegations of anti-Semitism. McCarthy last week ripped Democratic leaders for not taking disciplinary action, and suggested Omar’s words were worse than Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) comments about white nationalism.

GOP leadership opted to strip King from his committee assignments after he questioned when the terms “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” became offensive during an interview with The New York Times.