Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat who has represented the state’s 5th Congressional District since 2019, remains one of the most polarizing figures in the House.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1982, Omar fled the country’s civil war as a child, spent years in a Kenyan refugee camp, and arrived in the United States in 1995. She became a naturalized citizen in 2000 and later served in the Minnesota House before winning election to Congress as the first Somali-American member and one of the first two Muslim women to serve there. She is a member of the progressive “Squad” and sits on the House Education and Workforce Committee—where she is ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee—and the Budget Committee. Her legislative priorities have included education funding, student-debt relief, a higher minimum wage, immigration reform, Medicare for All, and climate policy.
Omar has drawn sustained criticism from Republicans and many conservatives for her statements on Israel and U.S. foreign policy. Opponents have condemned remarks they describe as antisemitic, including her 2019 reference to pro-Israel lobbying as being “all about the Benjamins” and her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. She has also faced backlash for a 2019 speech in which she referred to the September 11 attacks with the phrase “some people did something,” which she later said was meant to highlight post-9/11 civil-liberties concerns for American Muslims. Omar has apologized for some of the phrasing while defending the substance of her positions.
In October 2026, Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington-area home under a court-approved warrant as part of a criminal investigation that officials have linked to questions about her family’s immigration paperwork and citizenship timeline. Omar has described the search as political intimidation and said she will not be silenced. She is seeking reelection in November.
