Top Republican Congressman Sent Letter Saying Rich Jews Bought Congress
Rep. Tom Emmer, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — A letter sent by National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer to party members identified three “left-wing radicals” that he says “bought control of Congress for the Democrats.” They are all Jewish.
Emmer represents Minnesota’s Sixth District in the U.S. House. The Minneapolis-based American Jewish World newspaper first saw the letter, which is said appears to have been circulated in March, in July and reported on it Friday.
The letter on Emmer’s letterhead says “the news of impactful, real progress on turning our nation around was undercut by biased media and hundreds of millions of dollars of anti-Republican propaganda put out by liberal special interests, funded by deep-pocketed far-left billionaires George Soros, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.”
“These left-wing radicals essentially BOUGHT control of Congress for the Democrats,” the letter also said.
Soros and Bloomberg are Jewish and Steyer had a Jewish father and has in the past identified as Jewish although now he is a practicing Episcopalian.
The letter employs the anti-Semitic trope that rich Jews use their money for power and control.
The three men have been targeted with the same accusation by several Republican and conservative figures, including former House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Democratic freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota in a tweet earlier this year suggested that the pro-Israel lobby had bought its influence on Capitol Hill. Omar apologized after she learned her tweet invoked the anti-Semitic trope.
Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, criticized Emmer’s letter but told the newspaper that he is “a good friend to the Jewish community in Minnesota.”
The NRCC under Emmer has repeatedly accused Democrats of anti-Semitism, especially Omar, the newspaper reported.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
