WASHINGTON >> A bitterly divided House on Thursday ousted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the Foreign Affairs Committee over past comments about Israel that were widely condemned as antisemitic, as Republicans moved to cater to the demands of right-wing members and mete out punishment to a Democrat their party has demonized for years.

The 218-211 party-line vote, with one member voting “present,” settled a partisan score that has been festering since 202, when the House, then controlled by Democrats, stripped Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., of their committee assignments for social media posts in which they endorsed violence against Democrats.

The removal of Omar delivered on a threat that Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield., made at the time to retaliate if his party took the House majority by removing Democrats whom Republicans regarded as unfit to serve on committees. Last week, he unilaterally removed Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where membership is appointed, thus not subject to a vote.

McCarthy’s decision to force the removal of Omar in the earliest days of his new majority demonstrated his determination to ingratiate himself with the hard-right Republican base, which has made the Somali-born Omar a target for some vicious attacks.

Thursday’s vote also was a bid by McCarthy to curry favor with pro-Israel groups and evangelical voters and to drive a wedge among Democrats, many of whom had condemned Omar’s statements about Israel.