Ilhan Omar: McCarthy a ?coward? for not condemning Islamophobic comments

Kevin McCarthy is a "liar and a coward", Ilhan Omar said on Sunday, regarding the House Republican leader's refusal to condemn Lauren Boebert, the Colorado Republican who has made bigoted and Islamophobic comments about her Democratic counterpart from Minnesota.

Omar also said she was "very confident" that the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, "will take decisive action" against Boebert in the week to come, perhaps by removing committee assignments or seeking formal censure.

Omar came to the US from Somalia, and in 2018 was one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Boebert, a pro-Trump rightwinger, was also elected that year.

In comments over Thanksgiving which echoed previous attacks, Boebert called Omar a member of a supposed "Jihad Squad" and joked about fearing Omar might have a bomb when they shared an elevator in the US Capitol.

Omar condemned the remarks. Boebert apologised but a phone call ended in acrimony.

Some Republicans have condemned Boebert - but not McCarthy, a minority leader widely seen to be in thrall to pro-Trump extremists as he seeks votes to make him speaker in 2023, when Republicans are expected to take back the House.

Omar told CNN's State of the Union: "He is a liar and a coward. He doesn't have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his party.