Rashida Tlaib, the Michigan congresswoman and “Squad” member, has weighed in on Joe Biden’s intention to select Anthony Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, as his own secretary of state. Responding to the assertion that this was a “solid choice” by the president-elect, Tlaib warned: “Just make sure he doesn’t try to silence me and suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu’s racist and inhumane policies.”
This raises a couple questions. First, why does a sitting congresswoman believe that the secretary of state retains the ability to curb her First Amendment rights? Second, why would she publicly speculate that he might want to do so?