Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) accused Black, Muslim Congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of marrying her brother during a vulgar tirade about Democrats that she delivered on the House floor. Omar had the last laugh, though, when she brought up Boebert’s actual husband.
Boebert was angry that the U.S. House was voting to censure her ally on the white nationalist-right, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Gosar tweeted an animated video which showed him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a progressive Congresswoman who is a frequent target of the right’s hatred.
Related: Ilhan Omar’s transphobic opponent banned from Twitter for making death threats against her
The House debated a resolution to censure Gosar – censure is the House’s most severe form of punishment – and that set Boebert off.
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“Since the Speaker has designated the floor to discuss members’ inappropriate actions, shall we?” she shouted sarcastically.
Referring to Congresswoman Omar as “the Jihad Squad member from Minnesota” – an ignorant stereotype about Omar’s religion – Boebert said that Omar “paid her husband – and not her brother-husband, the other one – over a million dollars in campaign funds.”
Boebert was referring to a disgusting rightwing attack on the Somali-American Congresswoman that the right has used before. Omar never married her brother, but that hasn’t stopped conservatives like Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from saying it… but usually not on the floor of the U.S. House.
Omar called out Boebert for her hateful insinuation.
“Luckily my dad raised me right, otherwise I might have gone to the floor to talk about this insurrectionist who sleeps with a pervert,” Omar tweeted. “I am grateful I was raised to be a decent human and not a deprived person who shamefully defecates & defiles the House of Representatives.”
Omar was referring to how Boebert’s husband, Jayson Steven Boebert, was arrested in 2004 for exposing himself to young women at a bowling alley. He was 24 and Boebert, who was present, was 17.
Boebert told police officers that she didn’t see Jayson expose himself that night, but he pled guilty to a charge of “public indecency and lewd exposure” and got sentenced to four days in jail and two years of probation.
Boebert had her first child with Jayson later that year and they got married in 2007.
Luckily my dad raised me right, otherwise I might have gone to the floor to talk about this insurrectionist who sleeps with a pervert. I am grateful I was raised to be a decent human and not a deprived person who shamefully defecates & defiles the House of Representatives. 🙏🏽 God https://t.co/F5W9LBzjCZ
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 17, 2021
Boebert was also referring to how Omar’s campaign, prior to 2020, had a consulting contract with the firm her husband worked at. Despite complaints filed against her by a conservative group, the Federal Elections Commission has taken no action against her. She terminated the contract last year to “make sure that anybody who is supporting our campaign with their time or financial support feels there is no perceived issue with that support.”
Boebert later accused Omar of “praising terrorists,” probably a reference to Trump’s 2019 assertion that Omar professed her “love” for al Qaeda and said that the terrorist organization is “great” and “wonderful.” FactCheck.org rated the accusation as “False.”
The House voted yesterday to censure Gosar with a 223-207 vote largely on party lines. Only Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) voted with Democrats to condemn Gosar. It’s the first time the House has censured a member in ten years.
Gosar also lost his committee assignments, joining Rep. Greene as a committee-less member.
