House lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a resolution to censure Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and remove him from the Committee on Oversight and Reform, a source familiar with the plans told the Washington Examiner.

The rare censure measure was prompted by a video Gosar tweeted last week that featured the faces of Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, President Joe Biden, and himself cast over animated characters from the Japanese anime series Attack on Titan. AOC’s and Biden’s faces were edited onto those of the show’s villains, and Gosar’s character killed AOC and assaulted Biden.

The resolution will not strip Gosar from all committee assignments, though, as was the case with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at the beginning of the year. While he sits on the Oversight and Reform committee alongside AOC, Gosar also sits on the House Committee on Natural Resources.

The move from Democrats opens up the possibility for retaliation from Republicans if they win back the House in 2022. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to push for removing Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee over antisemitic remarks.

INFRA-PARTY BACKLASH IN HOUSE GOP: KATKO RETALIATION ATTEMPT, MCCARTHY AND ROY GET HEATED

Gosar eventually took the video down after McCarthy spoke to him, but he defended the video.

“The video depicts the fight taking place next week on the House floor and symbolizes the battle for the soul of America when Congress takes up Mr. Biden’s massive $4 trillion spending bill that includes amnesty for millions of illegal aliens already in our country and was not meant to depict any harm or violence against anyone portrayed in the anime,” Gosar said in a statement last week. “This video is truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy.”

His explanations did not remedy the harm in the opinion of AOC.

“If he was telling the truth, he would have apologized by now,” AOC told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s been well over a week, and he has not only not apologized, he has not only not made some sort of contact or outreach, neither he nor the Republican leader. He has doubled down by saying I am somehow representative of undocumented people.”

Gosar’s appearance with far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes has also caused outrage by members in the past.

McCarthy told reporters that he urged members in a House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday morning to stand against removing Gosar from committees.

“He didn’t see it before it posted. It was not his intent to show any harm,” McCarthy told reporters. “What I said to conference was, ‘[we] cannot accept any action or showing of a violence to another member.'”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“This video had nothing to do with harming anybody,” Gosar told conservative show host Stew Peters on Tuesday. “We were trying to reach out to the newer generation that likes these anime, these cartoons, fabricated in Japanese likeness, to actually tell them what’s harmful in this bill that they’re missing.”

Gosar added that McCarthy and the Freedom Caucus have supported him so far, but that the real test of the Republican conference will be on the House floor.

Original Location: House to vote on Gosar censure and committee removal over anime video Wednesday

Washington Examiner Videos