Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado) said Friday that he opposes the ongoing tit-for-tat between the parties over House committee assignments.
Driving the news: The Colorado Republican told NBC News’s Chuck Todd that he is against the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from committees, marking a rift in the matter with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who is expected to hold a floor vote to kick her off the Foreign Affairs Committee.
- “I think that we should not engage in this tit-for-tat,” Buck said.
Catch up quick: Omar earlier this week sent a letter to House Democrats’ steering committee asking to be reappointed to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
- McCarthy, meanwhile, has said he will try to remove her from that panel over comments she has made about Israel that colleagues in both parties labeled as anti-Semitic.
- The House Speaker could face opposition from his own party and can only afford to lose four votes in his motion to remove Omar. Buck would likely mark the fourth vote if he ultimately chooses to go against it.
The big picture: The heated partisan conflict over committee assignments began in 2021, when Democrats and a small number of Republicans voted to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their panels.
- Republicans said at the time that the move set a new precedent and vowed to take revenge.
- Making good on that promise, McCarthy this week formally removed Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee, a move some of the House Speaker’s caucus members opposed and a stark escalation in an ongoing tit-for-tat with Democrats over committee assignments.
What he’s saying: After saying he’s opposed to Omar’s removal, Buck added: “I have a little bit less certainty about Congressman Schiff and Swalwell on Intelligence just because it’s a little bit different than a regular committee. But I’m going to think through that and make a decision.”
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