House progressives and staffers ramp up pressure on Democratic leadership to take action against GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert

• Progressive lawmakers and staffers are pushing House Democratic leadership to punish Rep. Lauren Boebert.
• Boebert made Islamophobic comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar in at least two public appearances.

Progressive lawmakers and House staffers are upping the pressure on Democratic leaders to punish first-term GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado for a series of Islamophobic comments targeting Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.

A group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, are unveiling a resolution on Wednesday to strip Boebert of her posts on the House Natural Resources and Budget Committees, according to The Washington Post.

Also on Wednesday, over 400 House staffers, including over 50 Muslim staffers, are issuing an open letter, obtained by NBC News, imploring House Democratic leadership to "categorically reject" the "incendiary rhetoric that endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of Muslim staff on both sides of the aisle."

"As passionate public servants, we each have chosen to pursue a career in public service to work towards a better future for our country," the letter says. "However, the recent remarks by Rep. Boebert have heightened the climate of Islamophobia on the Hill, creating a feeling of anxiety and fear for many Muslim staff, our families, and communities, and leaving many of us to look to our congressional leaders for support."

—Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotnbc) December 8, 2021

It's unclear, however, if Pressley's resolution will gain the backing of House Democratic leadership or receive a vote on the House floor before the end of the year.

Pelosi has pushed back on reporters who asked her about punishing Boebert, arguing it's the responsibility of House Republican leadership.

"All you do is ask us what we're doing about what they should be doing as far as their members, but as their behavior is beneath the dignity of this institution," Pelosi said on Tuesday, The Post reported.

Pelosi reiterated this sentiment when asked specifically about Pressley's resolution. "It's the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members," she told CNN reporter Manu Raju.

At a November event in Colorado, Boebert called Omar, who is Muslim, part of a "Jihad Squad" and said a Capitol Police officer had "fret all over his face" when he stepped into an elevator with Boebert and Omar.

The Colorado congresswoman said she told the officer, "Well, she doesn't have a backpack. We should be fine," a comment implying that Omar could be a terrorist.

"Fact, this buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol, this whole story is made up. Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout," Omar tweeted on November 25 in response to the video.

Boebert told a similar Islamophobic story about Omar at a September event in New York, CNN reported. And in a November 22 interview on One America News that MSNBC highlighted on Tuesday night, Boebert called Omar " a literal terrorist" and said she "praises terrorists."

Boebert issued a statement on November 26 apologizing "to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar."

The two spoke by phone on November 29, but Omar ended the call after Boebert refused to publicly apologize for the comments.

House Democrats, joined by some of their Republican colleagues, have stripped two Republican members of Congress of their committee assignments in 2021.

The House voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from her committees in February after news outlets unearthed a slew of social media posts espousing racism, Islamophobia, and bizarre conspiracy theories. And in November, the House censured Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and kicked him off his committees after the congressman tweeted out an anime-style video that was edited to show him killing another progressive member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and brandishing swords at President Joe Biden.