House Republicans voted to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.

The resolution was approved in a 218-211-1 vote. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) voted present.

Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) sponsored the resolution, which cites several allegedly anti-Semitic statements made by Omar in 2019 and 2021. Miller claims Omar “cannot be an objective contributor to the work of the committee, and she has brought dishonor to the House of Representatives,” referencing what he said are comments against Israel and the Jewish people.

The resolution cites a comment Omar apparently made about pro-Israel politicians being “all about the Benjamins.” At the time, Omar’s comments were criticized by both Republicans and her fellow Democrats.

“Representative Omar, by her own words, has disqualified herself from serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, a panel that is viewed by nations around the world as speaking for Congress on matters of international importance and national security,” the resolution said, asserting further that Omar’s remarks “have brought dishonor to the House of Representatives.”

Omar defended herself on the House floor, saying, “This debate today, it’s about who gets to be an American. What opinions do we get to have, do we have to have to be counted as American?”

“This is what this debate is about, Madam Speaker [sic]. There is this idea that you are suspect if you are an immigrant,” she continued. “Or if you are from a certain part of the world, of a certain skin tone, or a Muslim.”

“Well, I am Muslim. I am an immigrant and, interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted?” she asked. “Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?”

“My leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term,” Omar said. “So, take your votes or not. I am here to stay.”

Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), and Ken Buck (R-CO) initially opposed the resolution but were persuaded to support it after private negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who promised last year that he would remove Omar from the committee if Republicans won control of the House in the midterms.

Mace said McCarthy offered her a “commitment” to support working with Democrats to reform the removal process to avoid ongoing committee replacements when control of the House flips between parties.

“Everybody recognizes on both sides that you don’t want to keep going back and forth,” she explained. “So if this is going to be the standard, let’s create the standard together going forward and actually have a process because we have a process for expelling a member from Congress, but we don’t have a process in the rules or in the Ethics Committee to remove a member from your committees.”

Many Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), alleged that Republicans kicking Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee was political retribution for Democrats removing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) from their respective committees in 2021.

Jeffries defended Omar, saying, “There has been accountability. Ilhan Omar has apologized. She has indicated that she’ll learn from her mistakes. So, this is not about accountability, it’s about political revenge.”

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) alleged the vote was a “blatantly Islamophobic and racist attack” against Omar.

Speaker McCarthy said on Wednesday there are “many committees” available for Omar to serve on, but the Foreign Affairs Committee is not one of them.

“I’m not saying she can’t have committees,” he said. “But to sit on Foreign Affairs, I worry about … what the rest of the world looks at, every single word that is said there.”

“I’m worried about predetermining what she believes in that situation,” he continued. “She admitted herself, she didn’t even know referring to financial money, dollars, was a trope for those who happen to be Jewish.”

Omar will continue to serve on the education and workforce committee and will also join the budget committee.