WASHINGTON—Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin called upon every Democratic House Committee Chairman to reject any request to authorize a taxpayer-funded Congressional delegation to Palestine as put forth by Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
TOPSHOT – US Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) reacts to a good number during an office lottery for new members of Congress on Capitol Hill November 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
In a letter to each chairman Babin wrote that:
“… as a newly elected Member of Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib has plans to lead a taxpayer-funded Congressional delegation (CODEL) to Palestine. This action, from an outspoken supporter of the ‘BDS’ Israeli boycott movement and whose personal vitriol led her to publicly brag about calling our President a ‘mother****er’ to her young son, is both ill-conceived and inconsistent with our national values.” (RELATED: ‘Impeach The Motherf****R’: Democratic Lawmaker Goes After Trump On Her First Day In Office)
Babin continued:
“Israel is of vital importance to U.S. interests in the Middle East, a fact widely acknowledged on both sides of the aisle. Since Israel’s beginnings, our nations have pursued strong relations based on common values, providing mutual security in the region and helping to spread democratic practices. The mere prospect of a CODEL like this threatens that relationship. Allowed to proceed, this action could undo years of goodwill built by the foreign policy and Israeli-American communities. To signal to our most threatened ally in the region that the United States Congress sanctions an official trip to visit Israel’s nemesis would be an exceedingly dangerous path forward.”
The Texas Republican called on the Chairmen to “deny Rep. Tlaib’s request to sponsor and lead a CODEL to Palestine and exercise your authority as chair to deny your consent to any member of your committee who seeks your approval to participate in such a misadventure. Please consider the damage that a yet inexperienced and overly caustic Member of Congress may cause to Israeli relations, or the perceptions of our own Jewish-American citizens.”
Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American member of Congress announced the trip to the West Bank, The Intercept first reported, shortly after she was elected to her seat. The trip would be in lieu of the Israeli sponsored AIPAC trip offered to incoming freshmen congressmen.
“I want us to see that segregation and how that has really harmed us being able to achieve real peace in that region,” Tlaib said to the Intercept back in December. “I don’t think AIPAC provides a real, fair lens into this issue. It’s one-sided. … [They] have these lavish trips to Israel, but they don’t show the side that I know is real, which is what’s happening to my grandmother and what’s happening to my family there.”
Tlaib made waves when she first came to Capitol Hill when she said to a group of supporters about President Donald Trump that Democrats will “impeach that Motherf**ker.”
Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125