Democrat Congresswoman Returns Campaign Contribution from Ilhan Omar

Rep. Lucy McBath’s (D-GA) re-election campaign revealed Wednesday that it rejected a contribution from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) as the freshman congresswoman faces fierce criticism for a series of antisemitic outbursts over the last several months.

The $2,000 donation, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, was absent from McBath’s quarterly fundraising report. When asked about the donation on Tuesday, the Georgia Democrat’s campaign affirmed its report was “accurate.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McBath’s campaign on Wednesday confirmed Omar’s contribution did not appear on the report because it had been rejected.

“McBath’s rejection of the donation is more important than it may sound. The Sixth District has a significant Jewish population – particularly in Sandy Springs and East Cobb County,” the AJC reported. The Free Beacon further reported that McBath kept a previous $2,000 from Omar made last October. Outpacing most of her Democrat colleagues, Omar raked in over $832,000 during her first three months as a congresswoman.

Since her January swearing-in, the 37-year-old Minnesota Democrat has been at the center of a swirling debate about anti-Semitism, discrimination, and the role of an outspoken first-year congresswoman who challenges the White House and makes her own party’s leadership chafe. Omar’s remark that political backing for Israel is fueled by money from a pro-Israel lobbying group, and her open support for a boycott and divestment movement against Israel led to vocal criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Earlier this month, she acknowledged becoming a lightning rod, telling late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert that identity politics has made immigrants, refugees, women of color, and Muslims the focus of intensifying national controversy. “I just happen to embody all of those identities,” Omar said on Colbert’s CBS show.

Omar also is facing blowback for downplaying the September 11, 2001, terror attack, describing it last month at a private fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a day on which “some people did something,”  before adding “and that all of us were starting to lose our civil liberties.”

In reaction to the Minnesota Democrat’s remarks, President Trump shared a video to social media of Omar’s remarks and scenes of the World Trade Center engulfed in flames shortly after it was attacked by radical Islamic terrorists. The video’s caption reads: “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!”

Several Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 2020 Democrat candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, said President Trump was inciting violence against Omar by tweeting the clip. In a statement Saturday, Nancy Pelosi demanded the president remove the video and said Capitol Police are conducting a security assessment to safeguard Omar amid a growing number of death threats.

The AFP contributed to his report.