The House is grappling with yet another fight between a far-right Republican and a member of the progressive “squad” — this time Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
The war of words between the two lawmakers escalated on Monday when they clashed in a heated phone call over Islamophobic remarks Boebert made suggesting Omar could be a terrorist.
For Republicans, the battle marked yet another headache in which a member of its far-right flank attacked a prominent progressive lawmaker of color less than two weeks after House Democrats moved to censure and take away committee assignments from Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for posting an edited anime video depicting himself killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Democrats, meanwhile, seized on Boebert’s remarks to cast the GOP as beholden to extremist elements and pressure House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to condemn her actions.
At the same time, Democrats don’t appear ready to formally punish Boebert like they did with Gosar or with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) earlier this year, in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, for appearing to endorse political violence.