Censure of Rashida Tlaib stirs resentments between House Democrats

Tensions are rising among House Democrats after 22 of them voted with Republicans to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib this week.

Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee was one of the lawmakers who voted to censure Ms. Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, for her antisemitic rhetoric about the Israeli-Hamas war.

Mr. Cohen said he was just given the cold shoulder by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a member of the far-left “Squad” on Thursday morning when he attempted to exchange pleasantries with her in the elevator, repeatedly saying, “Good Morning.” She just walked out of the elevator without saying a word, he said.

“That’s what you get when you don’t vote against the Tlaib censure,” said Mr. Cohen, who is Jewish. “Can’t we be adults here?”

Other progressive members were outraged about the outcome of Tuesday’s vote to censure Ms. Tlaib, who is the only Palestinian American in Congress. They said it was “outrageous” that Democrats voted to censure one of their own members.

“I am embarrassed for those Democrats who voted to censure their own colleague. Who voted against free speech? It is an embarrassment,” Rep. Pramilla Jayapal of Washington told CNN after Tuesday’s vote.

Democratic leaders are walking a tightrope trying to appease contradicting stances in their caucus, as antisemitism continues to rise in the U.S. and accusations of islamophobia are hurled.

“We’ve got to bring ourselves together because this is now dividing us in this country. And the hate that we are seeing is scaring the s—- out of me,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who opposed censuring Ms. Tlaib. “The death threats that are out there, the division in the communities, it’s not OK.”

However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also discouraged the use of the Hamas slogan “from the river to the sea” which is repeatedly used by Ms. Tlaib and refers to the elimination of Israel and removal of Jews from the region.

“As it relates to that term, we’ve been very clear we strongly disagree,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

The House censured Ms. Tlaib Tuesday for “promoting false narratives” about the war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.

The House voted 234-188 for the censure resolution introduced by Rep. Rich McCormick, Georgia Republican.

The censure cited Ms. Tlaib’s public statements and social media posts that defended Hamas and blamed Israel and the U.S. for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel including 29 Americans.

The vote against Ms. Tlaib consisted of 22 Democrats and 212 Republicans with three Democrats and one Republican voting present.