U.S. Rep. Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote recently in favor of censuring a Democratic House colleague and to approve a GOP-led Israel aid package that would also steeply cut Internal Revenue Service funding.
Craig voted yes on Tuesday for a resolution to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the State of Israel."
Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, accused her House colleagues of distorting her positions on the war and said in a statement she's "repeatedly denounced the horrific targeting and killing of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli government, and have mourned the Israeli and Palestinian lives lost."
Tlaib drew scrutiny for her embrace of the pro-Palestinian slogan "from the river to the sea," which is widely seen as calling for the eradication of Israel. Craig was among 22 House Democrats who voted to censure Tlaib. The effort passed in a 234-188 vote.
Craig said in a statement Wednesday that "the Anti-Defamation League characterizes the phrase 'from the river to the sea' as a call to effectively eradicate the Jewish State of Israel. Hamas uses it as a rallying cry for the genocide of the Jewish people."
"Members of Congress must consider their words carefully — especially during times of heightened tensions," Craig said. "The censure is not a perfect tool, but I felt that I had to express my strong disagreement with my colleague after she defended her use of this phrase and continues to promote disinformation."
Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who represents Minnesota's Third Congressional District and is running for president, wasn't in Washington for the censure vote but posted on social media that he would have voted against the resolution.
"While I vehemently oppose the language and contention that inspired the censure, I believe in protecting speech — even when it's painful to hear," said Phillips, who is Jewish. "Rashida is my friend and I know her heart. We must first find humanity in one another before we can bring sanity to the world."
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Minnesota) said in a news release that it would join other community groups and constituents in a protest against Craig's censure vote. The group said it would protest outside Craig's district office in Burnsville on Wednesday afternoon.
Craig also broke with most of her party last week on the bill that would mean billions in funding for Israel while also cutting billions in IRS funding that Democrats passed when they had unified control of Congress. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would grow the federal deficit.
By including the IRS cuts, House Republicans have essentially doomed the bill's chances of ever becoming law given that Democrats still control the Senate and the presidency.
The White House put out a statement opposing the legislation before the vote, saying "the bill would create a dangerous precedent by demanding partisan poison pill offsets in return for meeting core national security needs of the United States."
Craig was one of only 12 Democrats to vote for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. The bill passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 226-196, with every Minnesota Republican in Congress backing the bill.
In a statement explaining her position, Craig said, "I voted yes because I wanted to signal my strong support for aid to Israel."
"This is the bill that was put in front of me, but it won't be the one that becomes law," Craig said. "I'm looking forward to the Senate's work on this issue, and supporting a bill that can pass the House, the Senate, and be signed by the President."
