House Dem leader says ‘active discussions’ underway on how to punish Lauren Boebert

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said the party leaders are preparing to take action against GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert for making anti-Muslim comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar.

He said the caucus won’t rely on Republican leadership to hold accountable Mrs. Boebert, Colorado Republican, who has apologized for joking that Ms. Omar could be mistaken for a suicide bomber.

“There are active discussions underway to make sure that Lauren Boebert is held accountable, particularly given the likelihood that we may not see any accountability coming from the four-ring malignant circus on the other side,” Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “But, hope springs eternal, and we’ll see what emerges over the next day or two.”

A video of Mrs. Boebert surfaced in which she jokingly said that Ms. Omar, one of two Muslim women serving in Congress, was part of the “jihad squad.” Ms. Boebert also told a story about telling a Capitol Hill Police officer not to worry about Ms. Omar because she didn’t have a backpack, implying that Ms. Omar could be a suicide bomber.

Ms. Omar, Minnesota Democrat, called for disciplinary measures against Mrs. Boebert over her comments, asserting that a lack of action would be “normalizing” bigotry.

In a video uploaded to Twitter, Mrs. Boebert apologized for any offense taken by the Muslim community.

The two lawmakers shared a call, but the exchange only worsened the feud.

Ms. Omar hung up on Mrs. Boebert, saying she “doubled down on her rhetoric” instead of acknowledging the “hurtful and dangerous comments.”

Mrs. Boebert said in a video posted on Twitter that she never wanted to offend someone’s religion. But instead of apologizing for her comments, she urged Ms. Omar to apologize for her own comments made in the past.

Earlier this year, Ms. Omar was widely criticized for antisemitic rhetoric, including by a dozen House Democrats who are Jewish.

“I will fearlessly continue to put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists,” Mrs. Boebert said. “Unfortunately Ilhan can’t say the same thing and our country is worse off for it.”