National Republican Congressional Committee Calls Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib 'Bigots' in Blog Post

The National Republican Congressional Committee has called Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib—the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress—"bigots" in a blog post published on its website Monday.

"Inspired by bigots like @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib socialist Jon Hoadley wants to run for Congress in 2020," Carly Atchison, a press secretary for the NRCC, tweeted.

The social media post, which was retweeted by the NRCC account, included a link to a press update on the political committee's website, titled "Omar protégé announces bid for Congress."

The NRCC blog post outlined alleged aspects of Hoadley's platform including "destroying Michigan's auto industry through the socialist Green New Deal" and "taking away health insurance from over 500,000 people."

Atchison added in a statement that Hoadley is "an open socialist who would decimate the auto industry to advance his extreme ideology. Michiganders are not interested in paying more to lose their jobs and their health insurance."

Hoadley is currently serving in his third term as the state representative for Michigan's 60th district. According to The Detroit News, Hoadley plans to challenge longtime Republican congressman Fred Upton in the 2020 election cycle.

Both Hoadley and Omar were a part of America's Cabinet, a nonpartisan project of the Young Elected Officials Network. The group is made up of 19 officials who released a collaborative vision for "how America could live up to its promise here at home and around the world," according to its web page.

Representatives Omar and Tlaib made history during the 2018 midterm elections by becoming the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress. The duo were sworn in using a Quran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

Omar and Tlaib's offices have not yet responded to Newsweek's request for comment on the NRCC's statement.

Representatives Omar and Tlaib made history during the 2018 midterm elections by becoming the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress. The duo were sworn in using a Quran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

But both women have gone from being some of the most celebrated new members of the Democratic House majority to the most embattled. They have drawn criticism from both the left and the right for their outspoken views on Israel.

Even Donald Trump joined in on the debate, calling Omar "anti-Israel" just hours after one of his supporters was charged for threatening to assault and murder the freshman congresswoman.

Tlaib and Omar have battled back, arguing that critics who have dubbed them as anti-Semitic are trying to avoid any debate about U.S. foreign policy with Israel. Speaking at a town hall event in Washington D.C. in February, Tlaib and Omar defended their critical statements on the U.S. relationship to the Jewish state.

"It's almost as if, every single time we say something—regardless of what it is we say — … we get to be labeled something and that ends the discussion. Because we end up defending that and nobody ever gets to have the broader debate of what is happening with Palestine," Omar said.

Update: 4/9/2019: Jon Hoadley's campaign provided the following statement to Newsweek about the NRCC's blog post.

"By sending a meaningless, laughable attack against Hoadley this morning, Michigan Republicans have shown that they are petrified of Jon, and that they think Southwest Michigan voters are in fact ready for change Next November," said Brad Bauman, a spokesman for Jon Hoadley. "Their outright lies about the gas tax, fearmongering about the Green New Deal and about Jon's record show that on day one they are going to try and run a smear campaign against a three-term representative of Southwest Michigan with a history of getting things done for the community."