Midwest Lutheranism has entered the national political limelight since Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

The “Squad,” a group of progressive lawmakers in the House, is set to shrink next year after two members suffered primary defeats after an unprecedented deluge of special interest spending.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her primary race in Minnesota.

After a tough summer of primaries, the progressive House members who call themselves “the Squad” are facing their final challenge next week.

Thursday’s White House state dinner honoring Kenyan President William Ruto offered hundreds of guests some stunning D.

New York police have disbanded a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University and arrested more than 100 protesters, including the daughter of a prominent Minnesota congresswoman.

An election this month in Pittsburgh and some of its suburbs is emerging as an early test of whether Israel’s war with Hamas poses political threats to progressive Democrats in Congress who've criticized the conflict.

A group of progressive lawmakers are fighting back against a multimillion-dollar campaign to push them out of Congress for their vocal opposition to Israel's deadly bombardment of Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Most members of Congress have stood firmly behind Israel since the Hamas attack, but not Cori Bush.

The executive committee of Minnesota's Democratic Farmer Labor Party gave initial approval to bylaws that will permanently ban people who engage in or incite violent acts from participating in party activities.

Minnesota Democratic leaders will convene an emergency meeting Thursday evening to respond to the chaos that broke out during a convention to endorse a candidate for a Minneapolis City Council race.

A man who is suspected of setting fires to mosques in Minneapolis has been indicted on federal charges of arson and damage to religious property.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is now in her third term and she's no longer defined by the “firsts” that accompanied her arrival in Congress.

House Republicans have voted to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

A procedural vote Wednesday in the House showed unified Republican support in moving to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Three weeks into the new era of the House Republican majority, the risks of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership style are clearly taking hold.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she won't re-up as a House leader next year, even her adversaries acknowledged that hers was a remarkable era.

Joe Biden wasn't the first choice of progressives for the White House in 2020.

Somali Americans who fled war and famine are seeking to join the political process in greater numbers during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.

House Democrats have pushed through a long-sought policing and public safety package after overcoming internal differences on legislation they plan to make central to their election-year pitch.

A deal has been struck by the progressive and centrist factions of the Democratic caucus to bring a long-awaited policing bill to the House floor just weeks before the midterm elections.

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota won a closer-than-expected Democratic primary race against a centrist challenger who questioned Omar's support for the “defund the police” movement.

The Republican matchup in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race in Tuesday's primary elections features competing candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump and his estranged vice president, Mike Pence.

A federal court judge sentenced a former Trump supporter to three years probation for an emailed threat to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and three other congresswomen.

A rare Republican who supports abortion rights found success in Colorado in the first primary elections held since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Just seven Republicans, along with most Democrats, used remote voting in the House when voting-from-somewhere-else was first allowed two years ago as the pandemic erupted.

The House has voted to outlaw discrimination that's based on hairstyles and hair textures like Afros and cornrows.

Three checkered oil regimes that President Joe Biden and past U.S. leaders have spectacularly snubbed — Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran — are the targets of U.S. outreach as global fuel prices hit dizzying highs during the Ukraine crisis.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was one of the more high-profile targets of political violence when prosecutors say a group of men who were angry about pandemic restrictions plotted to kidnap her.

Four men are going to trial for an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing pushback from the White House and all corners of Washington after calling for the assassination of President Vladimir Putin by the Russian people.

The Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection by pro-Trump supporters and right-wing group members shattered the sense of security that many had long felt at the Capitol as rioters forcefully delayed the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

The House has delivered its first formal response to Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's anti-Muslim remarks by passing a bill to tackle Islamophobia worldwide.

Progressive Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to punish firebrand conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado for her recent comments likening a Muslim member of Congress to a bomb-carrying terrorist.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have settled on a strategy as a handful of Republican lawmakers stir outrage with violent, racist and sometimes Islamophobic comments: If you can’t police them, promote them.

Conservative congresswoman Lauren Boebert has spoken by phone with congresswoman Ilhan Omar just days after likening the Minnesota Democrat to a bomb-carrying terrorist.

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is imploring House Republican leaders to do more to tamp down “anti-Muslim hatred” in their ranks.

Minnesota's Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is calling on House leaders to take “appropriate action" against Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert for using anti-Muslim language in describing a recent encounter with Omar.

Minneapolis voters have rejected a proposal to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety — an idea that arose from the May 2020 death of George Floyd.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was the face of the city through some of its darkest days — the police killing of George Floyd last year and the rioting, burning and looting that ensued.

Minnesota’s Congressional delegation on Monday is introducing a resolution to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to pop superstar Prince, citing his “indelible mark on Minnesota and American culture,” The Associated Press has learned.

President Joe Biden is acknowledging frustrations as Democrats strain to rescue a scaled-back version of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill.

President Joe Biden has pledged on Capitol Hill to “get it done” as Democrats strain to rescue a scaled back version of his $3.5 trillion government overhaul and salvage a related public works bill.

Reporters have been given a glimpse of life on a Wisconsin Army post for newly arrived Afghan refugees.

Congressional Democrats are fighting over trillions of dollars, their paramount policy goals and perhaps their political fate.

Top congressional Democrats are trying to craft legislation financing President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar agenda of bolstering the economy and helping families.

Congressional leaders and a media advocacy organization are urging the Federal Communications Commission to investigate how policy decisions have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the acting FCC chair.

House Democrats and Republicans are backing away from a tit-for-tat battle over punishing firebrand lawmakers from the other party.

Rep. Ilhan Omar is moving to deescalate a bitter fight with Jewish Democratic lawmakers over the Middle East.

The House has narrowly approved $1.9 billion to fortify the Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Republicans trying to drive a wedge between Democrats and chip away at President Joe Biden’s support are zeroing in on the violence in the Middle East.

A year before her election to Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene searched for Rep_ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at her Capitol office, challenging the New York Democrat to “get rid of your diaper” and “talk to the American citizens.”.

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2021, file photo, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. One problem in resuming fully in-person operations at the Capitol is the lack of vaccinations for thousands of staff to the 435 House members. Give me a break.”It’s clear that Democrats are more emotionally spent than House Republicans, who bolstered their ranks in the last election despite Trump's loss. In February, the House voted to remove Greene from her committee assignments because of her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts and other actions. AdWhile security fencing is set to be removed from the Capitol, metal detectors remain stationed outside the House chamber after some Republican lawmakers pledged to bring their firearms onto the House floor.

Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – House Democrats passed the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing nationwide, avoiding a potential clash with moderates in their own party who were wary of reigniting the “defund the police” debate they say hurt them during last fall's election. Approved 220-212 late Wednesday, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is named for the man whose killing by police in Minnesota last Memorial Day sparked demonstrations nationwide. “We want to feel safe when we encounter law enforcement. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis. Another possible point of contention is provisions easing standards for prosecution of law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.

House Democrats are hustling to pass the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing. The bill would ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement and create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said during Wednesday's debate. AdPolice unions and other law enforcement groups have argued that, without such legal protections, fear of lawsuits will stop people from becoming police officers — even though the measure permits such suits only against law enforcement agencies, rather than all public employees. California Rep. Karen Bass, who authored the bill, understands the challenge some House members face in supporting it.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., goes back to her office after speaking on the floor of the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out Friday at “morons” in both parties who voted to kick her off her committees, a day after the House meted out the unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, all but 11 Republicans voted against the Democratic move on Thursday but none rose to defend her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Even social media stars like Greene could find it harder to define themselves without the spotlights that committees provide. That chamber’s minority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this week called Greene’s words a “cancer” on the GOP and country.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., goes back to her office after speaking on the floor of the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Afterward, Greene suggested that the shooting might have been staged. Connecting a series of scattershot points, Greene suggested a bank controlled by the Rothschild family, who are Jewish, a utility company responsible for the fire and then-Gov. Greene “liked” the comment and replied, “Most people honestly don’t know so much. 9/11 ATTACKSIn November 2018, Greene shot a video in which she talked about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, referring to a “so-called” plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

“The President continues to support the cancelling of student debt to bring relief to students and families,” Psaki tweeted. AdBiden previously had said he supports erasing up to $10,000 in student debt through legislation, but he had not shown interest in pursuing executive action. “The last thing people should be worried about is their student debt,” she said. Calls for debt forgiveness have been mounting following years of college tuition increases that have contributed to ballooning national student debt. Forgiving $50,000 in student debt would cost an estimated $650 billion, Warren said.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):12:10 a.m.President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness. ___6 p.m.Joe Biden’s campaign is taking down its attack ads in the wake of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection. ___11:55 a.m.First lady Melania Trump says she is experiencing “mild symptoms” after she and President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

BEMIDJI, Minn. – Minutes into yet another Donald Trump campaign rally, the world got word that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. Over the next 90 minutes, Trump claimed that Minnesota would be flooded with refugees if Democrat Joe Biden won the White House. As Trump moved on to other topics, White House aides were reacting to Ginsberg’s death. White House adviser Ben Williamson took to Twitter to say the White House flag had been lowered to half-staff to honor Ginsburg. And White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tweeted his condolences to the late justice’s family and loved ones.

(Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – The State Department on Wednesday rejected Democrats' charges of improperly firing its independent inspector general and defended its weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Linick’s firing was one of several dismissals by Trump of people charged with preventing fraud and abuse in the government. The State Department officials told the committee that Pompeo acted appropriately on all counts. The IG concluded that the arms sales did not violate the letter of the law but said the department did not take enough action to limit civilian casualties. Members of Congress had been blocking some of the sales because they might contribute to the human rights disaster in Yemen.

ATLANTA – Facebook removed a photo illustration showing a Republican congressional candidate in Georgia posing with a rifle next to three Democratic House members, saying Friday that it violated the social media platform's policy against inciting violence. Greene's post featured four separate photos that had been combined to show her posing with a rifle next to Democratic U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. Omar said the post was generating death threats. After her Aug. 11 runoff victory, she inveighed against “spineless Republicans" and promised to kick Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of Congress. But she denied in a statement Friday that she was trying to incite violence.

Omar, seeking her second term in November, easily defeated Antone Melton-Meaux, an attorney and mediator who raised millions in anti-Omar money. Omar rejected Melton-Meaux’s attacks, saying they were funded by interests who wanted to get her out of Congress because she’s effective. Melton-Meaux didn't support that but did support shifting some funding away from police to more social service-oriented programs. Both touched on the issue in personal ways, with Omar saying she wanted her son to grow up safely. I have some reservations.”John Hildebrand, a 47-year-old teacher in Minneapolis who voted for Omar, said her national profile is an advantage.

Fifth Congressional District candidate, Democrat Antone Melton-Meaux, answers questions during an interview in his Minneapolis office Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Melton-Meaux is giving Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar an unexpectedly strong, well-funded primary challenge in one of the country's most heavily Democratic congressional districts, which includes Minneapolis and some suburbs. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Fifth Congressional District candidate, Democrat Antone Melton-Meaux, answers questions during an interview in his Minneapolis office Wednesday, July 22, 2020. All the attention has helped make Omar a progressive star, but it’s also drawn criticism and a surprisingly strong primary challenger in Melton-Meaux. He’s raised big money from pro-Israel groups with strong support in the city’s first-ring suburbs. “She has been ineffective in Washington because she is divisive, and she’s focused on her celebrity,” Melton-Meaux said. Omar raised nearly $3.9 million through June 30, mostly from far more small donors than Melton-Meaux, and still enjoys the support of most Democratic heavyweights.

Agency for Global Media chief Michael Pack said Thursday his staff is looking into the segment that it called “pro-Biden” and weighing disciplinary action against those responsible. Pack has drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for initiating a major shakeup of the agency that oversees VOA and its sister networks. His response to the video package could intensify those concerns while heartening VOA critics, including at the White House, who believe the agency is biased against Trump. That criticism exploded earlier this year when the White House attacked VOA for its coverage of COVID-19. The director and deputy director of VOA resigned within days of Pack taking control of AGM in early June.

Now, Omar is out with a new memoir that offers her own spin on her path to prominence, starting with her childhood in Mogadishu. Instead, it sketches rugged years that Omar says made her a fearless fighter, unafraid to skirmish with President Donald Trump and her frequent conservative critics. A YOUNG FIGHTERIn her memoir, written with Rebecca Paley, Omar recounts taking on a much taller boy when she was just 7, rubbing his face in the sand after he picked on someone weaker. Since the couple had married religiously – not civilly -- to get divorced, Hirsi had to simply declare the marriage ended, Omar wrote. The lawmaker told Omar she was different, and eventually said it was because she walks into a room “like a man.”“A white man,” Omar said she responded.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has married a political consultant who worked for her, months after the two were accused of having an affair, which she denied. A marriage license filed in Washington, D.C., shows Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett on Wednesday. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show Omar's campaign paid Tim Mynett or his firm nearly $600,000 since July 2018. A relationship between Omar and Mynett was publicly alleged in August, when Mynett's then-wife, Beth Mynett, filed for divorce and accused her husband and Omar of having an affair. It's not uncommon for congressional members to employ family members, including spouses, parents and children.

Omar was kicking off her reelection campaign Thursday night with a massive bank account and no challengers who pose a serious threat from either party. “This is one of the most progressive-liberal districts in the country and Rep. Omar is one of the most progressive-liberal members of Congress,” Jacobs said. Trump's attention to Omar has helped her raise enormous amounts of money, and she's used the national stage effectively, Jacobs said. Omar raised more than $2.5 million through last year’s third quarter, the latest figures available, and had $1.56 million in the bank. “This is the beginning of what I think will be a series of nationally prominent and contested races against Rep. Omar,” Jacobs said.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops routinely detain Palestinians who organize or take part in protests. Critics say such measures leave the Palestinians with no choice but to accept permanent military rule or resort to violence. More than 50 years after occupying the West Bank, Israel is still systematically denying Palestinians civil rights, including the right to gather, Human Rights Watch said in a report released last month. One candidate for such a title might be Abu Rahma, who for several years organized weekly protests outside his West Bank village of Bilin against Israel's controversial separation barrier. As a Palestinian, he is governed by Israeli military law, while the Jewish settlers in Hebron enjoy full rights as Israeli citizens.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Rep. Ilhan Omar has officially divorced from her husband in Minnesota, just a month after she filed a petition saying there was an "irretrievable breakdown" in their marriage. Omar and Ahmed Hirsi had been married since January 2018 but were longtime partners. Omar says Hirsi is the father of her three children. The divorce comes months after a Washington, D.C., woman accused the Democratic congresswoman of having an affair with her husband. When Omar was asked at the time whether she was separated from Hirsi or dating someone, she told WCCO-TV, "No, I am not."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, along with progressive freshmen Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, are endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, several sources told CNN on Wednesday. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez met in Burlington, Vermont, the last weekend of September, but neither side would discuss the details of their discussion. Ocasio-Cortez has worked with a number of progressive Democratic candidates for president, including Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris of California. "I think Sen. Sanders has that. "And it's why I believe Bernie Sanders is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump in 2020."

President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed a Republican Senate candidate in Minnesota who once said members of the Republican Party had "dual loyalties" to Israel and the "Jewish lobby" controlled the party. (CNN) - President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed a Republican Senate candidate in Minnesota who once said members of the Republican Party had "dual loyalties" to Israel and the "Jewish lobby" controlled the party. Those 2013 comments from Jason Lewis, a former one-term US congressman, drew criticism from several Jewish groups after CNN's KFile first reported on them in September. At a campaign rally in Minnesota, Trump announced his endorsement of Lewis, calling him "tough and smart." The endorsement comes as Trump and his allies have repeatedly attacked Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for comments she made on Israel and Jewish Americans earlier this year that drew widespread condemnation.

(CNN) - Greta Thunberg has become a household name since she began her climate strikes in 2018, inspiring thousands of students to walk out of class and demand action on the climate crisis. Around the globe, young people are sounding the alarm on climate change and environmental issues by organizing rallies and confronting policymakers. In her home state of Minnesota, Hirsi is focused on advocating for groups that are disproportionately affected by climate change. Six years later, at the age of 14, Peltier is fighting for water conservation and indigenous water rights. The self-described "future president" came to fame in March 2016 when she wrote a letter to then-President Barack Obama about the Flint water crisis.

Getty Images(CNN) - President Donald Trump called a group of House Democrats "savages" -- language he has previously used for terrorists and gang members -- as Democrats begin revving up their impeachment inquiry into the President's actions regarding Ukraine. In a tweet Saturday morning, Trump unleashed his new broadside against House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler. In the past, Trump has used the word "savages" in speeches and at campaign rallies to refer to the terrorist group ISIS and the violent gang MS-13. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry this week over the allegations that Trump attempted to pressure a foreign leader for political gain. Tasked by Pelosi to lead the inquiry, Schiff is preparing for hearings, subpoenas and depositions as soon as next week as Democrats try to finish the probe this fall.

(CNN) - Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar indicated this weekend that she doesn't think Joe Biden should get her party's presidential nomination, arguing that the former vice president isn't progressive enough to excite voters. "And I would say (Biden) is not one of them." The comments from the progressive congresswoman were made as a number of the 2020 Democratic candidates pitched themselves this weekend in the first-in-the-nation caucus state as the best contender to take on President Donald Trump. Biden, the pack's centrist front-runner, has faced tough criticism from his fellow candidates for his record, which some have knocked as not being progressive enough. Next month, Biden may face more questions about how progressive his record is during the fourth presidential debate, hosted in Westerville, Ohio, by CNN and The New York Times.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar hopes Israel will "make a different decision" and break from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as voters head to the polls on Tuesday. In an interview on CBS's "Face The Nation" on Sunday, Omar said she hopes the people of Israel will "recognize that his existence, his policies, his rhetoric really is contradictory." Both Omar and Tlaib were banned from entering Israel in August and Israel cited the congresswomen's support for a boycott against Israel in considering the ban. Israel announced it was banning the congresswoman came after President Donald Trump, an ally of Netanyahu, said Israel would be showing "great weakness" by allowing them to enter the country. In a statement shortly after, Netanyahu said, "The plan of the two Congresswomen is only to damage Israel and to foment against Israel."

(CNN) - Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday dismissed President Donald Trump's ability to navigate escalating tensions with Iran, pointing to the controversy over Hurricane Dorian's path and whether it would hit Alabama. The secretary of state doesn't it have and Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it," Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, told CNN's Erin Burnett on "OutFront." Omar's invocation of past Trump administration falsehoods comes after Trump told reporters Monday that "it's looking like" Iran was behind this weekend's attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia but suggested it was too early to say for sure. Trump said Monday he was "not looking to get into new conflict, but sometimes you have to." As Trump gears up for a 2020 reelection battle, a notable lack of public trust in information coming from the White House -- such as the falsehoods Omar referenced -- continue to dog his administration.

(CNN) - Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar responded Sunday to criticism from the son of a victim of the 9/11 terror attacks over comments she made earlier this year. Haros Jr. wore a shirt with the words, "Some people did something." In April, President Donald Trump tweeted a video using 9/11 imagery attacking Omar's remarks, but the under-a-minute video that Trump posted did not include Omar's comments in context. A video of Omar expressing how the 9/11 attacks affected her was also tweeted from her congressional account. Haros Jr. told CNN that Omar "showed respect for the loss of families.

State investigators' long inquest drew national attention and, after a dramatic February finale, the North Carolina election board voted to re-run the race. In addition to the Bishop-McCready race, voters in the state's 3rd Congressional District will likely be choosing between Republican state Rep. Greg Murphy and Democratic former Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas. Here's what to watch for in North Carolina. Trump has leaned on that message in the run-up to the election, tweeting in August that McCready "likes the 'Squad' more than North Carolina." The Republicans, especially Trump, will take a pair of victories in North Carolina and -- if history is any guide -- celebrate them as a crushing defeat for Democrats.

(CNN) - Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Tuesday fired back at the Alabama Republican Party after it urged her expulsion from Congress and cited Omar's past controversial comments on Israel. A resolution passed by the Alabama Republican Party State Executive Committee last weekend at their summer meeting in Auburn urges the state's congressional representatives to proceed with Omar's expulsion under Article 1, Section 5 of the US Constitution, according to Terry Lathan, the chair of the Alabama Republican Party. "I was elected with 78% of the vote by the people of Minnesota's 5th District, not the Alabama Republican Party." Alabama Republicans also cite her support for the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement, which aims to end international support for Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians. The resolution was introduced by state Republican Rep. Tommy Hanes, and was passed by an "overwhelming" voice vote, according to Lathan.

Deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely told CNN on Thursday of Israel's decision to ban Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country. "Israel's denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar is a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel," Pelosi said. On Thursday, Trump said it would show "great weakness" if Israel allowed entry to Omar and Tlaib. "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit," Trump tweeted. If used to deny entry to Tlaib and Omar, it would be by far the most high-profile implementation of the law.

Omar came under the harshest criticism as Trump played to voters' grievances, drawing a chant from the crowd of "Send her back! Trump has accused them of "spewing some of the most vile, hateful and disgusting things ever said by a politician." As for Ocasio-Cortez, Trump fumbled over her name and declared, "I don't have time to go with three different names." As for Omar, Trump unfurled a whole list of complaints, including a false accusation that she voiced pride in al-Qaida. If they don't want to love our country, if they don't want to fight for our country, they can," Trump said.

But for many Republicans, his racist comments on Sunday were, as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine put it, "way over the line." Still, Ernst was in an unusual position in calling Trump's racist remark racist. Many Republicans did not directly respond to questions regarding whether the President's comments were "racist." He questioned the birthplace of the first African American president, Barack Obama. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's comments "drip with racism."

CNN VideoOne of the Democratic lawmakers criticized by President Donald Trump's attacks in recent days called the President's remarks a "disruptive distraction" and said that she would encourage the American people "to not take the bait." "Our squad is big," Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts told reporters at a news conference Monday afternoon. She was joined by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a group shorthandedly referred to on Capitol Hill as the "squad." On Sunday, the President attacked the Democratic congresswomen, falsely implying they weren't natural-born American citizens; Omar was the only member of the four not born in the United States. On Monday, Trump stood by his attacks on the quartet of Democratic congresswomen, insisting they leave the United States if they continue complaining about his policies.