Rep. Dan Crenshaw said Wednesday a 9/11 firefighter conspired with his Democratic congressman to “undermine” his criticisms of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Last Tuesday, the Texas Republican criticized Ms. Omar, Minnesota Democrat, for her comments on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, echoing many opponents accusing her of downplaying the disaster.
“First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as ’some people who did something.’ Unbelievable,” Mr. Crenshaw tweeted.
In response, 9/11 firefighter Rob Serra slammed Mr. Crenshaw and accused the Texas Republican of brushing him off on Capitol Hill, saying he was “too busy” to talk about his opposition to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
“He really didn’t want to talk to us. He said he didn’t have any information and that his staff would take care of it,” Mr. Serra said to New York Daily News.
Mr. Crenshaw pushed back, accusing Mr. Serra of conspiring with his constituent, Rep. Max Rose, to undermine his condemnation of Ms. Omar.
“He’s conspiring with Max Rose. There’s a more malicious underlying motive here I think. This accusation is a nefarious attempt to undermine me because I spoke out against Omar. It’s highly dishonest,” he said to New York Daily News.
An aide to Mr. Rose told the publication the claim was “baseless” and Mr. Serra tweeting about the interaction was “the first we heard” about it.
“My priority is doing right by our first responders and their families and that’s it,” Mr. Rose said in a statement.
Mr. Crenshaw said he backs the victim fund, but he’s waiting to see the “final bill” before supporting the initiative.
“Generally speaking, I support the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, but the reality is that it’s not out of committee yet. I certainly support the fund, but we need to see what the final bill is like. I hope they don’t put poison pills in it so that we are forced to vote against it,” Mr. Crenshaw said.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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