00:00House Strips Ilhan Omar's $1.46 million carve-out for Somali-led group
00:06A Minneapolis earmark fight threatens a $184 billion spending package days before January 30 shutdown,
00:14after House Republicans stripped Representative Ilhan Omar's Generation Hope funding.
00:19The dispute centers on a community grant for a Somali-led addiction recovery center in Minneapolis.
00:24Omar requested $1,460,877 for Generation Hope. The final earmark was $1,031,000.
00:36Founded in 2019, the group serves the East African community, and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina
00:42Smith backed it. Representative Chip Roy called earmarks the currency of corruption.
00:48Tom Cole warned he can't afford to have a million-dollar project jeopardize the entire
00:53package of bills. And appropriators removed the item to advance the package.
00:58Minnesota's fraud scandals loom, notably feeding our future and roughly $250 million in alleged
01:05stolen federal nutrition funds. On January 5, Governor Tim Walz said he would not seek re-election,
01:12which observers linked to oversight pressure. The fallout increased scrutiny of immigrants
01:16serving non-profits and questioned Medicaid and other payments. Federal and state investigations
01:22continue statewide. Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee sent a January 2026 letter to Attorney General
01:29Pam Bondi seeking a DOJ review, citing IRS records listing three directors at the same five-bedroom
01:37Minneapolis home and a Cedar Avenue address above Seagal Restaurant and Coffee. The 2023 Form 990
01:45showed $51,353 in revenue, $171,045 in expenses, and $119,966 to contractors. They said these features
01:59closely resemble tactics alleged in ongoing federal investigations into Minnesota non-profit fraud,
02:05including the Feeding Our Future case, and noted Abdiraman Warsom's brother was linked to a 2015 ISIS-related
02:12plot, pleaded guilty, and was released in 2019. Senator Mike Lee stated stopping these funds is
02:19not enough we should pursue every red flag, uncover every wrongdoing, and suspend federal eligibility
02:26for taxpayer dollars. Ernst moved to redirect the $1 million to DOJ fraud prevention and removing the
02:33earmark let the CJS package advance toward a late January vote with the White House willing to sign to
02:39avoid a shutdown. Earmarks, rebranded as Community Project Funding in 2021, remain volatile as a
02:47narrow house majority weighs oversight demands, reforms, and stricter vetting with thousands of
02:52allocations in the bill.
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