Balanced
May 26, 2026

Vote To Remove Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar From Congress Being Considered By Republican Congressman

St. Paul, MN - May 28, 2026

MINNESOTA HOUSE FALLS SHORT ON SUBPOENA FOR REP. ILHAN OMAR IN FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD PROBE

A Republican-led effort to compel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to testify and produce documents tied to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scandal failed Tuesday in the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee.

The committee voted 5-3 in favor of issuing the subpoena, falling one vote short of the six required under the chamber’s bipartisan operating agreement.

Committee Chair Kristin Robbins (R) argued the subpoena had become necessary after Omar repeatedly declined invitations to testify and failed to respond to document requests.

“We have reached out to Representative Ilhan Omar on multiple occasions, inviting her to testify and inviting and requesting documents,”

Robbins said ahead of the vote. “The only tool left for us as a committee if we want to get these documents is to issue a subpoena.”

Republicans on the panel focused heavily on Omar’s role in sponsoring the federal MEALS Act during the COVID-19 pandemic. They argue the legislation loosened oversight requirements in federal nutrition programs and created conditions that enabled large-scale fraud.

“Representative Omar had some role, whether inadvertent or not,”

Robbins said. “She passed the MEALS Act in March of 2020, and that took the guardrails off the federal school nutrition program which created the conditions for Feeding Our Future.”

The Feeding Our Future scandal has become one of Minnesota’s largest public corruption cases in recent history. Federal prosecutors allege that organizers and associates diverted hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed low-income children during the pandemic through fake meal claims, shell nonprofits, and fraudulent reimbursement requests.

Dozens of individuals have been charged in the ongoing federal investigation, including nonprofit founder Aimee Bock and numerous business operators tied to Minnesota’s Somali community.

Republicans specifically sought communications involving Omar and several individuals connected to the fraud investigation, along with records tied to her public promotion of Safari Restaurant, a Minneapolis business later linked to the scandal.

Robbins also referenced a Somali-language television appearance in which Omar highlighted the restaurant as a meal distribution site during the pandemic.

Democrats on the committee strongly opposed the subpoena effort, accusing Republicans of politicizing the investigation and targeting Omar for partisan reasons.

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