Voting NO on GOP Military Spending Bill

This week, Republicans brought an $830+ billion military spending bill to the House Floor which would fund the right's police state and continue to inflate our already-bloated defense spending budget. This adds onto the $150 billion defense budget Republicans passed through with their budget bill– making our military spending appropriation for FY26 nearly $1 trillion dollars. This comes after conservatives passed policies that will make historic cuts to both Medicaid and SNAP, ​​arguing that we don’t have enough money to ensure affordable food and health care for the American people. I voted NO on this bill because it’s far past time we stopped writing blank checks for endless wars that only hurt our reputation abroad and do not make us safer here at home. I’ll keep fighting to reorient our budget to address the pressing issues facing our communities instead of appeasing warmongers.

 

Republican Budget Betrayal Press Conference

I joined Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando, MN State Senator Omar Fateh, MN State Representative Sydney Jordan, and community leaders to sound the alarm in Minneapolis on how the GOP budget bill will be devastating for working families. The bill slashes Medicaid, kicking 17 million Americans off their healthcare plans. It cuts 186 billion dollars from SNAP, taking food off tables for seniors, children, and single moms. All to fund more tax breaks for billionaires. It’s a disgusting betrayal of America’s working class. You can watch the full press conference here.

 

Visiting Art Exhibits Across CD5

I was grateful for the opportunity to visit both the “GIANTS: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys” exhibit celebrating Blackness and Black art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art Museum and Salad Hilowle’s exhibit exploring the Somali diaspora and the Afro-Swedish experience at the American Swedish Institute. I spoke to the organizers about how my work to protect federal arts funding is so important.

 

Protecting Students’ Right to Free Speech

Conservatives in Washington are using the right wing Canary Mission, an anonymous site that blacklists and doxxes individuals, to target dissenting students with deportation for exercising their First Amendment right of free speech. The students targeted by Canary Mission and the right wing orgs that support it have reported a surge in online harassment and threats. During this week’s House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, I questioned administrators from the City University of New York, University of California Berkeley, and Georgetown University on what they're doing to protect their students from the Admin's unconstitutional policies. You can watch the hearing here.

 

Fighting for Safer WorkplacesTrump’s Department of Labor is on a roll with policies that remove child labor protections and slash safety inspections – and workers are the ones paying the price. This week I hosted a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing on how the Trump Administration's policies are putting workers’ lives at risk by deregulating, defunding, and dismantling the very institutions that keep our workers safe. No job should ever be a death sentence. I’ll keep fighting to build safer workplaces through robust standards, effective enforcement, and strong partnerships. Because no worker’s life should ever be treated as expendable. You can watch the hearing here.

 

Chairing the CPC’s Promoting Peace and Security Task Force

I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of my mentor, the incredible former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, now Mayor of Oakland, in taking over as the Chair of the Promoting Peace and Security Task Force as part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. This task force is needed now more than ever to hold this Administration's corrupt policies accountable. Our focus will be on limiting the United States’ global armed presence and instead invest in diplomacy that will allow the United States to reorient our engagement with the world. You can watch my remarks here.

Monthly Column in Sun Current

Last month was a hard and heavy month. My dear friends were assassinated in a horrific act of political violence, our president authorized an act of war without congressional approval, and I voted against one of the cruelest budget bills in our nation's history. I recapped everything that went down in my monthly column in the Sun Current. You can read it here.

Mid-Year Casework Review

I’m proud to announce that my casework team has helped over 500 constituents navigate issues with federal agencies in 2025, returning over $3,774,000 back to folks across Minnesota’s Fifth District! If you need help troubleshooting your Social Security benefits, getting your tax refund, need an update on your immigration case, or more, please reach out to my district office. We’re here to help! You can call us at 612.333.1272 or email us here: [email protected]

 

In Service, 

 

 

 

 

 

Ilhan Omar