In a dramatic showdown in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, a resolution to formally censure Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was narrowly rejected, after four Republicans sided with Democrats to block the censure. The resolution, introduced by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, sought to reprimand Omar for reposting a video disparaging Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk following his assassination.
The vote ended with 214 votes to table the resolution, with four Republicans joining the Democratic ranks: Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska, Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, Rep. Tom McClintock of California, and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida. The measure, if passed, would have also stripped Omar of her membership on the House Education and Workforce and House Budget Committees.
All Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of tabling the resolution, effectively blocking the attempt to censure Omar.
Rep. McClintock issued a statement explaining his vote, acknowledging that Omar's comments on Kirk’s assassination were “vile and contemptible,” but asserting that the First Amendment protects even hateful speech. “Censure is formal punishment by the House, and we have already gone too far down this road,” McClintock said. “Omar’s comments were not made in the House and even if they were, they broke no House rules.”
McClintock further emphasized the importance of tolerating all speech in a free society. “A free society depends on tolerating ALL speech — even hateful speech — confident that the best way to sort good from evil is to put the two side by side and trust the people to know the difference,” he added.
Following the vote, House Democrats, led by Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, moved to retaliate by introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Mills, who had faced recent scrutiny over assault allegations and accusations of threatening his ex-girlfriend with explicit videos.
Omar’s repost of a video on X (formerly Twitter) called Kirk a “reprehensible human being,” a “stochastic terrorist,” and a “transphobe” in the wake of his assassination. She further dismissed the idea of remembering Kirk for any of the good he did, telling Mehdi Hasan of Zeteo News that it was “f-ed up” for people to do so. “These people are full of shit and it’s important for us to call them out,” Omar said.
The effort to censure Omar came amid calls for cooler rhetoric following Kirk’s tragic death. However, Omar and Mace were engaged in a heated exchange of words on social media, with both congresswomen trading barbs throughout the day leading up to the resolution vote.
While the censure effort was ultimately blocked, the underlying tensions and political fallout from the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination continue to fuel divisions in Congress, with the debate over free speech and political accountability remaining a focal point.
