AOC unloaded on Republicans for hypocrisy with their vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from her committee.
She said Republicans have been rewarded with plum committee assignments after doing worse.
"This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America," she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unloaded on Republicans for hypocrisy Thursday while defending her fellow "squad" member, Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Republicans voted to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her controversial comments in the past about Israel. Ocasio-Cortez, in a fiery floor speech, said Republicans have been rewarded for doing worse.
"Don't tell me that this is about a condemnation of anti-Semitic remarks, when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers, and also elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments in this body," she said, a reference to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. "This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America."
Greene in 2018 published false and anti-Semitic conspiracies alleging the "Camp Fire" wildfire in California was orchestrated by politicians and wealthy Jewish bankers.
After being stripped of committee assignments last Congress for her rhetoric, she now sits on prestigious committees on oversight and homeland security.
Ocasio-Cortez further called out Republicans for rewarding Rep. Paul Gosar, without mentioning by name, "with one of the most prestigious committee assignments in this Congress" after she said he threatened her life.
The House voted in 2021 to censure Gosar and remove him from his committee assignments when he tweeted an edited anime video that showed him killing Ocasio-Cortes. His committee assignments this Congress include oversight and natural resources.
"I didn't get a single apology when my life was threatened. Thank you," she said, ending her speech by slamming her book on the lectern.
The House voted along party lines to remove Omar from the foreign affairs committee, except for Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, who voted "present."
Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, said a "disgusting legacy" of the September 11 terrorism attacks has been the targeting of and racism against Muslim Americans. She characterized the vote against Omar, who is Muslim, as "an extension of that legacy."
"There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party's continued attack except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body," she said.
