Ilhan Omar branded Nancy Mace a “really disturbed and demented person” as the Trump acolyte’s attempt to have her censured over her Charlie Kirk comments failed.
Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, had introduced a motion that would have stripped Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, of her committee assignments.
The House of Representatives voted for a motion to table Mace’s measure, with four Republicans joining every Democrat to essentially kill the legislation. Reps. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, Cory Mills of Florida, Mike Flood of Nebraska and Tom McClintock of California joined Democrats.
Mace had cited an interview Omar did with media outlet Zeteo, where she criticized Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric in the past while also denouncing the Turning Point USA founder’s shooting as “mortifying.”
“I mean, she’s a really disturbed and demented person,” Omar told The Independent. “I hope she does get the help she needs.”
The resolution would have removed Omar from her assignments on the House Education and Workforce Committee as well as the House Budget Committee. Omar thanked the Republicans who joined in tabling Mace’s motion.
“I’m glad that there are at least four that are left that believe in the First Amendment and are willing to protect the rights of members to not be punished for things that they haven’t done,” Omar told The Independent.
Mace’s resolution also cited a series of tweets from the Minnesota Democrat.
“They voted to shield a woman who mocked the cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Mace said on X. “Instead, Democrats and these 4 “Republicans” chose Ilhan Omar over decency, over justice, and over Charlie Kirk’s family. They showed us exactly who they are. Never forget it.”
Before the vote, Mace had also insinuated that Omar, who emigrated to the United States from Somalia, should be deported.
“If you celebrate murder, maybe Somalia can take you back,” Mace said on X.
Mace entered Congress as a relative moderate who once called herself a “caucus of one.” But she has moved significantly to the right in the past few years, endorsing Trump in 2024. She is now running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina largely as a pro-Trump MAGA Republican.
But other Democrats criticized the effort.
“I mean, this is their goal, right?” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Independent. “It’s a distraction machine.“
This is not the first time that Republicans have sought to strip Omar of her committees. In the last Congress, House Republicans voted successfully to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her comments about Israel, wherein she said support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby.”
A member of the progressive Squad–which includes Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Rep. Ayanna Press of Massachusetts–Omar has also seen special criticism from Trump.
“We know that Nancy Mace is not serious at all, and this was all about a grift in the first place,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas told The Independent. “But the fact that Republicans didn’t vote for her, I think that it stands to reason that some Republicans really, actually still believe in free speech.”
