She began her political career in 2004 when she interned with State Representative Steve Tobocman, who hired her to his staff when he became majority floor leader in 2007, and encouraged her to run for his seat the next year.

In 2018, she won the Democratic nomination and the general election for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 13th congressional district.

Tlaib has called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel; she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

On November 7, 2023, Tlaib was censured by the House of Representatives in response to her public statements following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

[3] Tlaib received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Wayne State University in 1998[4][5] and her Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2004.

[19] After leaving the state legislature, Tlaib worked at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit nonprofit that provides free legal representation for workers.

[21] Longtime Representative John Conyers had resigned from Congress in December 2017 due to a sexual harassment scandal.

[23] Tlaib, as a member of the Justice Democrats, made a guest appearance on the political interview show Rebel HQ of the progressive media network The Young Turks (TYT).

[27] Tlaib faced no major-party opposition in the November 2018 general election, although Brenda Jones mounted an eleventh-hour write-in bid.

[44] The next day, Israeli authorities granted a request by Tlaib to visit her relatives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on humanitarian grounds and under certain restrictions on political statements.

[49][50] On October 26, 2023, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed H.Res 829, which would have censured Tlaib for her criticism of Israel and for "leading an insurrection" after she participated in a protest at the Capitol.

She added that she had "repeatedly denounced the horrific targeting and killing of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli government" and that she supported a ceasefire to end the conflict.

[55] Tlaib said the phrase "from the river to the sea" was "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate.

[56] On November 8, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned Tlaib's use of the slogan "from the river to the sea".

[61] In September 2024, several politicians and media figures, including Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, CNN personality Jake Tapper, Michigan State Senator Jeremy Moss, and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, criticized Tlaib for allegedly saying or insinuating that Nessel was prosecuting pro-Palestinian protesters because she is Jewish.

[67][4] Tlaib has said she opposes providing aid to a "Netanyahu Israel" and supported the Palestinian right of return and a one-state solution.

[68] In 2018, J Street, a mainstream pro-Israel Jewish organization,[69][70][71] withdrew its endorsement of Tlaib due to her support for a one-state solution.

[72][73] Responding to criticism, Tlaib elaborated by saying that she believed a two-state solution under Benjamin Netanyahu's government was not possible without harming the Israeli people.

[74] Tlaib is one of the few members of Congress to openly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Israeli government.

[75] In January 2019, Tlaib criticized anti-BDS legislation proposed by Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch.

Tlaib's comments were criticized by several groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which said, "Though the legislation discussed is sponsored by four non-Jewish Senators, any charge of dual loyalty has special sensitivity and resonance for Jews, particularly in an environment of rising anti-Semitism.

[86][87] The resolutions resulted in criticism from Senators Rosen and Kennedy, who said that calling the "establishment of the only Jewish state a 'catastrophe' is deeply offensive" and that "the Capitol grounds should not be a pedestal to legitimize anti-Semitic bigotry".

[88] Tlaib responded the criticism by noting that organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had concluded that Israel has imposed a system of apartheid on Palestinians.

The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.

[94] The thread ended with the tweet, "From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.

"[114] In 2023, Tlaib and Congresswoman Cori Bush were the only two representatives to vote against a resolution recognizing National Police Week.

[116] On her first day in Congress, January 3, 2019, she published an op-ed with John Bonifaz[117] in which she argued that it was not necessary to wait for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to complete his criminal investigation before proceeding with impeachment.

[117] Later that day, Tlaib spoke at a reception for the MoveOn campaign, recounting a conversation with her son in which she expressed her resolve to "impeach the motherfucker".

[123] In September 2018, The New York Times reported that Tlaib walked into her family's mosque to express her gratitude for the opportunity to run for Congress, articulating a belief that "my Allah is She".

[124] The Detroit Free Press reported that, although she recognizes that some in her faith community consider her not "Muslim enough",[1] she believes that Allah understands that she deems her actions "reflective of Islam".