You’re welcome, says … the RNC. For some reason, Nancy Pelosi wrapped Ilhan Omar in a warm embrace during yesterday’s State of the Union, rather than let the vague impression of toughness stand. Pelosi tells Dana Bash that she didn’t “rebuke” Omar for her equating of Hamas and the Taliban to the US and Israel. All she did, Pelosi insists, was thank Omar for her clarification (via the Daily Wire):

Ilhan Omar equated the U.S. and Israel with terrorist groups.

Nancy Pelosi says Omar “is a valued member of our caucus” and admits Democrats did not “rebuke her.”

Pelosi stands with anti-Semites. pic.twitter.com/RR0Qyk1NxC

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2021

PELOSI: We did not rebuke her. We thanked — acknowledged that she made a clarification. So, before we go too far down the path, credit…(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Yes, I’m — these aren’t my words. These are your caucus members’ words.

PELOSI: No, I understand that. I understand that. No, that is a member.

BASH: Yes.

PELOSI: That’s a caucus member.

BASH: A caucus member.

PELOSI: A caucus member.

BASH: Yes. So, I just wanted to get your response to that.

PELOSI: Yes, and I will tell you — no, I’m not — I’m responding to that. We — the — Congresswoman Omar is a valued member of our caucus. She asked her questions of the secretary of state. Nobody criticized those, about how people will be held accountable if we’re not going to the International Court of Justice. That was a very legitimate question. That was not of concern. Members did become concerned when the tweet that was put out equated the United States with the Taliban and Hamas.

BASH: Rashida Tlaib is accusing you of policing women of color.

PELOSI: And — and — and then she clarified it. And we thanked her for clarification.

BASH: So, do you want people to just let it go and move on?

PELOSI: They can say whatever they want. But what I’m saying is end of subject. She clarified. We thanked her. End of subject. Whatever people go out and say is up to them. But what we — what happened is a reflection of the respect we have for our member when she made her questions at the hearing, but the disagreement that we have to equate the United States of America with Hamas and the Taliban.

And … that’s not worthy of a rebuke? Not even a little bit? Come on, Nan. Profiles in Courage this ain’t.

What makes this inexplicable is that Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn undeniably rebuked Omar for that comment. Their joint statement declared that “drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the US and Israel and … Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice”. Not only is that a rebuke, it actually worked — perhaps too well, as Tlaib’s rebuttal showed. Omar retreated, allowing Pelosi to tamp down the burgeoning political crisis between Jewish members of her caucus and the radical progressives threatening to tear it apart.

That doesn’t mean it’s over. Kevin McCarthy plans to proceed with a privileged motion to strip Omar of her committee assignments, which will put Pelosi in the middle again:

OH ME, OH’MAR: The drama over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) latest controversial comments ain’t going away. Sources tell your Huddle host that House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is considering introducing a privileged resolution to boot Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee sometime this week so stay tuned for that.

How much will Pelosi thank Omar for that fight? McCarthy actually has a pretty good shot at scoring a win here if the signatories of the original letter decide to stick it to Omar. Pelosi only can afford to lose three votes, and twelve members signed the original letter demanding a “clarification” from Omar. You can bet that Jerrold Nadler won’t cross Pelosi, but some of the others might … especially after this sad performance from Pelosi in defending Omar.