Trump’s Feud With Ilhan Omar Is Getting More Intense
The president has ramped up attacks on the Minnesota congresswoman, implying she profited from a fraud scandal and is under investigation
President Trump suggested Rep. Ilhan Omar profited from Minnesota’s welfare fraud scandal and is under Justice Department scrutiny.
Rep. Omar’s financial disclosure from May 2025 showed assets between $6 million and $30 million, a significant increase from the prior year.
Omar’s spokeswoman stated her wealth reflects business valuations where her husband is a partner, not her individual share.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, facing potential investigations pushed by President Trump and House Republicans, isn’t shying away from another fight with the White House.
Trump suggested in a social-media post Monday that Omar profited from the state’s massive welfare fraud scandal and said the Justice Department is scrutinizing her. Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has also suggested he might subpoena Omar’s husband after the pair disclosed a significant increase in financial assets.
Omar, the most prominent member of a Somali community that is in the spotlight amid a sprawling safety-net scheme, said in a statement that Trump has “an unhealthy and disturbing obsession with me and the Somali community” and that “every time he scapegoats communities, he is trying to divert attention.” Omar added: “For years, he has called for investigations against me and they have found nothing.”
Following criticism of the White House—including from some Republicans—about this past weekend’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis, Trump has pointed to the welfare swindle as a rationale for ramping up immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors have already secured roughly 60 convictions and more than 90 people—many of Somali descent—have been charged in the fraud scandal.
Trump said on social media that the Justice Department and Congress are “looking at” Rep. Omar, “who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
Omar’s office said she received no communication from the Justice Department or Republicans in Congress who have threatened investigations of her.
The first Somali and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, Omar has frequently drawn Trump’s ire. The two have clashed since she was elected in 2018 to a congressional district that includes Minneapolis and nearby suburbs. The animosity has grown amid tensions over the fraud and fatal shootings of two of her constituents this month by federal immigration officials.
Omar’s most recent financial disclosure, from May 2025, showed that she and her husband have assets of between $6 million and $30 million. The forms don’t require exact values but only broad ranges. Those totals were up considerably from a year earlier, when they reported between $37,000 and $208,000.
Omar’s husband, political consultant Tim Mynett, is involved with a variety of businesses. Those include a venture-capital management firm in Washington, D.C., and a winery in Santa Rosa, Calif., according to her disclosure form.
It was a significant increase in the valuation of the capital-management firm and winery that were by far the biggest drivers of the couple’s jump in assets between the form filed in 2024 and the one filed in 2025.
Jacklyn Rogers, an Omar spokeswoman, played down the congresswoman’s wealth.
“She does not have millions in the bank,” Rogers said in a statement. “The value range listed for the assets reflects the full cost assessment of the businesses, in which her husband is one of several partners, and does not reflect her husband’s individual share.”
Trump’s latest criticism comes after he called Omar “garbage” at a Dec. 2 cabinet meeting and said at a Dec. 9 rally in Pennsylvania that she “does nothing but bitch.”
Omar, 43, first gained national attention for her role in a group of younger, nonwhite and progressive women known as “the Squad” who often challenge Democratic leadership and are vocal Trump critics.
She has been challenged in every re-election she has faced, but has always managed to beat rivals for her party’s nomination. The winner of the primary for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party—the label Democrats in the state campaign under—is almost guaranteed victory in November elections in Minnesota’s reliably blue Fifth Congressional District.
“Rep. Omar was the first signal that the more socialist-aligned Democrats were gaining a stronghold in Minneapolis,” said Blois Olson, a nonpartisan political analyst who publishes a newsletter on Minnesota politics. “She’s made a lot of noise nationally but at times has been seen as less focused on her district.”
Rep. Jamie Long, a state lawmaker who represents part of Minneapolis, said Omar holds monthly town halls and her office is very focused on constituent casework. “Ilhan is extremely engaged with her district and constituents,” he said.
Minnesota’s welfare fraud scandal has scrambled the state’s political scene. Gov. Tim Walz announced earlier this month that he would drop his bid for a third term because of the theft during his tenure, while Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is poised to run for his job.
Trump suggested the fraud is “massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus” in size. The state’s largest newspaper, the Minnesota Star Tribune, using court records, has documented more than $200 million to date, while a former federal prosecutor has said it could reach billions.
Omar said the welfare swindling has been politicized unfairly.
“From the moment the fraud was discovered, I denounced it and called for anyone who participated to be held accountable,” she said. “Going after fraud should not be partisan. We should all care about protecting public resources, restoring trust, and strengthening oversight. We must also not blame entire communities for the unacceptable actions of a few.”