Rep. Kaptur Falsely Claims She Doesn’t Have Power to Vote to Expel Tlaib

A video obtained by Breitbart News shows Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) contending she does not have the power to vote to expel Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) from Congress despite the U.S. Constitution granting that power to members. 

Notably, there has not been a vote to expel or even ensure Tlaib, as the House of Representatives is without a Speaker, and no Congressional business can be done until one is selected. However, an individual in the video asks Kaptur why she has not voted to expel her fellow Democrat over Tlaib’s comments regarding the conflict in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Palestinian terror group Hamas’s attack on Israel. 

“The voters of Michigan will make the decision about any member or any of us, really,” Kaptur said. “The voters will do that. I don’t have power to do that. Read the Constitution.” 

As Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution states, the House of Representatives may “punish its members for disorderly Behavior, and with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” 

Tlaib continues to doubt that a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket struck a Gaza City hospital last week, Breitbart News noted on Monday. Hamas initially claimed that it was an Israeli airstrike behind the explosion and that it killed 500 people.

Some media outlets echoed the claim before the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) stated its belief that it was an errant rocket, which has been backed up by surveillance and media footage, as Breitbart News Senior Editor Joel Pollak has reported. Further, President Joe Biden has backed the Israeli military on this front.

Related: Media Repeat Hamas Propaganda on Hospital Blast; Israel Shows Evidence Terrorist Rocket Responsible:

In a statement published Monday, Tlaib called for an “independent investigation” into the explosion at the hospital, which potentially killed 50 people.

“Media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary,” she wrote. 

This comes nearly a week after she riled up a group of Pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington, DC, during a speech, in which she reiterated the claim despite the evidence having emerged indicating it was an errant PIJ rocket. 

At some point, the protesters stormed and occupied the Rotunda in the Cannon House office building near the U.S. Capitol:

In a statement, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella criticized Kaptur for the false claim. 

“On top of having no knowledge of the Constitution, Marcy Kaptur claims to stand for Israel but goes into hiding when her own colleague spreads antisemitic propaganda for a terrorist organization. Her shameful dodge is dangerous and abhorrent,” he said.