House nears vote on censuring Rashida Tlaib over her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war

The House was nearing a showdown vote late Tuesday on whether to punish Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan -- the only Palestinian American in Congress -- for her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

The House was nearing a showdown vote late Tuesday on whether to punish Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan -- the only Palestinian American in Congress -- for her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

The outcome of the vote will likely depend on whether Democrats unite with a handful of their GOP colleagues in defending Tlaib, who has long been a target of criticism for her views on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.

That criticism reached new heights after the Oct. 7 attack by the terrorist group Hamas left hundreds of Israelis dead and scores injured. Tlaib, who has family in the West Bank, came under heavy reproval after she failed to immediately condemn Hamas after the attack.

Democrats stood by Tlaib and helped defeat an initial censure resolution against her last week. But since then, many of her colleagues, including prominent Jewish members, have become more conflicted about her rhetoric about the war, especially because of a slogan she has used frequently that is widely seen as calling for the eradication of Israel.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., the lone Democrat to vote with Republicans on Tuesday to advance the censure resolution, said he believed it was important to debate the slogan "from the river to the sea."

"It is nothing else but the call for the destruction of Israel and murder of Jews," the Jewish Democrat said. "I will always defend the right to free speech. Tlaib has the right to say whatever she wants."

He added, "But it cannot go unanswered." It was unclear if Schneider would support the resolution on final passage.