Rep. Buddy Carter is proposing to strip three New Jersey lawmakers of their House committee assignments after they participated last week in a protest at a Newark migrant detention facility.
The Georgia Republican introduced a one-page resolution that would remove Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman from the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rob Menendez from the Energy and Commerce Committee and Rep. LaMonica McIver from committees on Homeland Security and Small Business.
“This behavior constitutes an assault on our brave ICE agents and undermines the rule of law. The three members involved in this stunt do not deserve to sit on committees alongside serious lawmakers,” Carter said in a statement.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson already suggested the lawmakers could be arrested — something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called a “red line” on Tuesday. Spokespeople for the three New Jersey Democrats did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Removing the lawmakers from their committees would be a less drastic step but still mark a major escalation in cross-party tensions. Republicans removed three Democrats from committees last Congress for various infractions; that followed Democrats booting Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from their panels when they held the majority in the Congress before that.
While Republicans say the lawmakers wrongfully forced their way into the detention facility, resulting in a chaotic scrum that was caught on video, Democrats argue they were legally entitled to inspect the facility as members of Congress. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at the protest and later released.
Carter last week launched a Senate campaign against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. It’s not clear if the resolution will hit the House floor; a spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carter could seek to bring the measure up under a fast-track process that would bypass House leadership and committees.
Fox News first reported the bill’s introduction.
Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
