Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) sent a letter Wednesday to the House Ethics Committee requesting an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) over a recent viral speech in Somali in which she allegedly claimed to be working in Somalia’s interest in Congress.
Emmer said he believes the translated remarks made last week violate House rules, specifically Rule XXIII, clause 1, which says “a Member of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”
“No sitting member of Congress should be able to blatantly spew anti-American rhetoric and get away with it,” Emmer said in a statement, further calling her remarks “appalling.”
During a Saturday speech in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Omar reportedly said in Somali, “We are an organized society, brothers and sisters, people of the same blood, people who know they are Somalis first, Muslims second, who protect one another,” according to a translation.
In the speech, she also was accused of saying, “Sleep in comfort knowing I am here to protect the interest of Somalia from inside the U.S. system,” adding, “Together we will protect the interests of Somalia.”