(12 Feb 2019) Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has apologized for tweets suggesting that members of Congress support Israel because they are being paid to do so.
But President Donald Trump on Tuesday called her apology "lame" and said she should resign from Congress or at least not be allowed to serve on committees.
The Minnesota Democrat said she had no intention of offending anyone, including Jewish Americans, when she insinuated that lobbyists were paying lawmakers to support Israel.
The remark drew bipartisan criticism and a rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Speaking to reporters during a Cabinet meeting, Trump raised the issue.
"Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress," Trump said. "I think she should either resign from Congress or she should certainly resign from the foreign affairs committee."
Omar's statement on Monday was the latest reckoning among Democrats of intense differences in their ranks over the U.S.-Israeli relationship, highlighted by criticism from Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
They are the first Muslim women to serve in Congress. Pelosi and other Democrats, including leaders and chairmen, laid down a marker making clear that Omar had overstepped.
Trump also spoke about U.S.-South Korea's new deal that increases Seoul's contribution for the cost of the American military presence on its soil, overcoming previous failed negotiations that caused worries about their decades-long alliance.
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