Republican Representative Victoria Spartz Reverses Stance, Agrees to Support House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Effort to Remove Representative Ilhan Omar from Committee Assignments

On Tuesday, Republican Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana reversed her previous stance and agreed to support House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s effort to remove Representative Ilhan Omar from her committee assignments. This change of heart came after McCarthy agreed to add language to the resolution that would allow Omar to appeal the decision with the House Ethics Committee.

Spartz had previously expressed her belief that allowing an appeal process for the Speaker’s and majority-party removal decisions was important for freedom-loving legislators. She said in an interview that people must be able to appeal procedures and have rights to defend themselves, otherwise “we will turn into a tyranny of the majority.”

McCarthy and his leadership team had seen a handful of GOP defections that threatened to derail their push to remove Omar, given their razor-thin majority. Spartz’s change of heart was seen as a major victory for the Speaker and his team.

In a Tuesday statement, Spartz said that deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches. She also expressed her appreciation of McCarthy’s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to the resolution.

The House is expected to vote on the resolution today. If it passes, Omar will be removed from her committee assignments. It is unclear at this time if she will appeal the decision with the House Ethics Committee.