On Capitol Hill, Republicans Use Bigoted Attacks Against Political Foes

When Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, stood on the House floor this month to announce her proposal to censure the only Somali-born member of Congress, she said she was seeking punishment for “Representative Ilhan Omar of Somalia — I mean Minnesota.”

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Earlier that same week, Representative Troy Nehls, Republican of Texas, called the Black husband of another Democratic woman of color, Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, a “thug.” He then said Ms. Bush, who is also Black, had received so many death threats because she was “so loud all the time.”

At a hearing across the Capitol, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, grilled the chief executive of TikTok, Shou Chew, about his nation of origin. Mr. Cotton repeatedly demanded to know whether Mr. Chew — who is from Singapore and of Chinese descent — was Chinese, held a Chinese passport or was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

“No, senator — again, I’m Singaporean,” Mr. Chew responded with agitation after saying several times that he was not Chinese.

Around the same time, House Republicans released their report on impeachment charges against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the Cuban-born homeland security secretary who is the first Latino to lead his department. Using unusually loaded language for a committee report, the panel described its action as “deporting Secretary Mayorkas from his position.”