Ilhan Omar lashes out at Trump after winning re-election

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., won re-election with more than 76 percent of the vote in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District and used her victory speech to criticize President Donald Trump. She referred to him as “the bigot in the White House” and said the results showed her community would not be a pawn in the administration’s game.

Omar has faced two federal criminal investigations that became public weeks before Election Day. One examines whether she fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship, and another looks at discrepancies in her financial disclosures. She framed the probes as attempts to intimidate her and her supporters.

“When they decided that they were going to come for me, they thought that they were going to find someone who was going to cower,” Omar said. “They thought they were going to find a community that was going to live in fear. They thought that if you attacked me and you silenced me, that my community wouldn’t show up and vote.”

She referenced federal immigration operations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. “When this administration came for Minnesotans, we knew that we could respond by showing up in the streets and protecting our neighbors, but we also knew when Election Day came that we were going to provide an answer by directly rejecting them in the ballot box,” Omar stated.

Omar noted Democratic wins in other Senate races and argued they demonstrated a backlash against administration policies. She echoed Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to chair the House Oversight Committee, in saying the Trump family should “lawyer up.” “He said, ‘You better lawyer up.’ Because your time of harassment is over. It is our time for accountability and transparency,” Omar said.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Omar, calling her “garbage,” a “disaster,” and a “disgrace to our country.” He has said she should “go back” to Somalia. Omar, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000, has described the investigations as politically motivated.

The congresswoman won in one of the most Democratic districts in the country, continuing a pattern of large margins. The probes did not prevent her from securing a fifth term. She told supporters that her community refused to live in fear and delivered its response at the polls.

Omar’s remarks came early Wednesday after the results confirmed her victory. She positioned the outcome as a rejection of the administration and its allies. The speech also pointed to greater Democratic oversight power once the new Congress convenes in January.

The investigations involve the Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations. Omar’s attorneys have criticized aspects of the process, while officials have said they followed legal requirements. No charges have been filed, and the probes do not establish wrongdoing.

Her comments highlighted local opposition to immigration enforcement actions and linked them to the broader election results. Omar argued that voters in Minnesota and elsewhere chose to push back against the policies of the past two years.