Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar said she plans to move out of her Washington DC apartment after federal agents raided her residence last week. The congresswoman, a Democrat who has been subject to Donald Trump’s attacks, is reportedly whining that she is living “paycheck to paycheck” as she faces scrutiny from the Trump administration. Omar is under the spotlight over her alleged financial disclosures that previously indicated a net worth of up to $30 million.
Last week, federal agents raided her Washington DC home as part of a probe into the legitimacy of her citizenship. “Working class, I guess, like paycheck to paycheck, still,” she told MS NOW’s Chris Hayes in an interview that aired Wednesday. “We’ve got four kids, and we live, I think, like a basic life. I have a Toyota Camry that’s from 2016.”
Ilhan Omar's financial disclosures raised eyebrows
According to The New York Post, last year, Ilhan Omar’s financial disclosures raised eyebrows. A majority of her assets were held by her husband, Tim Mynett, including holdings in a since-shuttered winery, eStCru, valued between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000, and his venture capital firm Rose Lake Capital, valued between $5,000,000 and $25,000,000 by the end of 2024.
House lawmakers are required to disclose their assets within specified value ranges rather than report exact amounts in their mandatory financial filings. Omar later said there had been an error in her paperwork and submitted an amendment revising her reported net worth to between $18,004 and $95,000. She has maintained that she is not a millionaire. Earlier this month, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro confirmed her team was probing Omar’s disclosures.
Ilhan Omar's salary
Despite her net worth, Ilhan Omar pockets a $174,000 salary, more than double the median annual salary of a full-time American worker. During her wide-ranging interview on MS NOW, Omar revealed plans to leave her DC home due to its address now out to the public.
Despite her net worth, Ilhan Omar pockets a $174,000 salary, more than double the median annual salary of a full-time American worker
“Obviously, I can’t continue to live there,” she said, “because our address has been public and with the death threats that I deal with, it’s no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids visiting off and on, having people track them.”
Omar said she woke up in the early hours of Monday last week when agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrived at her home to execute a search warrant. The agents searched the house “room by room” and seized several items, including her cellphone.
Why is Ilhan Omar being investigated?
The investigation against Ilhan Omar is about the paperwork she submitted when she obtained US citizenship decades ago. Born in Somalia, she moved to the United States with her family as refugees in the mid-1990s.
Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, became a US citizen in 2000. Omar was listed as 17 at the time, allowing her to obtain citizenship through the applicable process for children of naturalizing parents. The Trump administration is investigating whether she was actually 18 at the time. If authorities establish grounds for denaturalization, she could face the loss of her US citizenship and potential deportation.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and described the investigation as politically motivated. Since entering Congress in 2019, she has also faced recurring allegations about her immigration history, including an unproven claim that she married her brother to help him obtain US citizenship.
Asked whether she was related to her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, Omar replied, “Not to my knowledge,” according to the New York Post.