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MTG profiles Rep. Ilhan Omar over speech translation and threatens to censure and deport her

Taking an inaccurate translation of Somali and running with it, Greene accuses Omar of being "a foreign agent"

Senior Culture Editor

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) listens during a hearing with the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) listens during a hearing with the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has become the target of Republican ire after an inaccurate translation of a speech delivered in Somali last week triggered desires to racially and culturally profile her — with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) taking up the charge, calling for her censure and deportation.

In the speech in question, which was given at the Minneapolis Hyatt Hotel at a celebration of the recent election in Puntland, a region of Somalia, Omar is reported to have told the audience that Somalia would remain united, and that she would use her influence to keep it that way, according to Minnesota Reformer, which, along with a befuddled understanding of the rest of her speech on the part of Republicans, ignited the questioning of her allegiance to the United States.

"Today, I’m introducing a Censure Resolution on Ilhan Omar for admitting she’s working as a foreign agent for a foreign country," Greene declared in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. "I urge my colleagues to vote to Censure, but I wish I had the votes to expel and deport her."

 

 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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