Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican from Georgia, has proposed a resolution that would strip three New Jersey Democrats of their House committee assignments. The lawmakers were involved in an incident at a Newark migrant detention facility earlier this week. The resolution, introduced by Carter, targets Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rep. Rob Menendez, and Rep. LaMonica McIver, accusing them of undermining the rule of law and endangering ICE agents. Carter’s statement criticized the lawmakers for their actions, stating that they do not deserve to sit on committees alongside ‘serious lawmakers.’
The incident occurred during a protest at the Newark facility, which resulted in a chaotic scrum that was caught on video. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was not legally entitled to enter the facility as a member of Congress, was arrested during the protest and later released. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson reportedly suggested that the lawmakers could face arrest, a warning that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called a ‘red line.’
The three Democrats have responded by stating that Carter’s resolution is an attempt to divert attention from the GOP’s pending domestic policy bill. They argue that their actions were a legal oversight visit, a right afforded to all members of Congress. ‘As we all know, Members of Congress have a legal right to conduct oversight at any DHS detention facility without prior notice, and that’s exactly what we were doing last week,’ they added.
Removing the lawmakers from their committees would mark a major escalation in partisan tensions, as Republicans have previously removed three Democrats from committees for various infractions, following a similar trend where Democrats booted conservative representatives from their panels when they held the majority in the Congress before that. While Republicans claim the lawmakers wrongfully forced their way into the detention facility, the incident highlights the ongoing tensions between the parties over immigration and border control policies.
Carter has recently launched a Senate campaign against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. It remains unclear if the resolution will be brought up for a vote, as a spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet responded to a request for comment. However, Carter could seek to bring the measure up under a fast-track process that would bypass House leadership and committees. The resolution has already been reported by Fox News as the first to address the incident.