On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump launched a blistering verbal assault against Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the first Somali-American members of the U.S. Congress, drawing fresh lines in America’s ongoing debates over immigration, accountability, and the intersection of race and politics. The remarks, delivered on Thursday, came just a day after the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota announced charges against eight Somali migrants for their alleged roles in an $8.4 million Medicaid fraud scheme embedded within the state’s Housing Stabilization Service (HSS) program.
Trump’s comments, reported by allAfrica.com and other outlets, were pointed and, for many, deeply controversial. He described Somalia, Omar’s country of birth, as a nation “plagued by government collapse, corruption, bribery, conflict, terrorism, famine, and piracy.” He continued: “Seventy percent of Somalia's population lives in extreme poverty. It is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And yet Ilhan Omar wants to tell us how to run America!” The former president’s words, delivered in his trademark combative style, quickly ricocheted across social media and cable news, reigniting old accusations and stirring heated debate.
Perhaps most notably, Trump revived previously debunked allegations that Omar had married her brother to obtain U.S. citizenship—a claim that has been repeatedly investigated and found to lack credible evidence. “Somalia is consistently ranked among the World's Most Corrupt Countries, including Bribery, Embezzlement, and a Dysfunctional Government. All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America!” he wrote, doubling down on his criticisms and connecting them, however indirectly, to the news out of Minnesota.
Omar, who has often been the target of Trump’s ire, did not immediately respond to the remarks. Her silence, at least in the immediate aftermath, left supporters and critics alike wondering how she might address the renewed attacks, especially given their timing and the charged context in which they were delivered.
The catalyst for Trump’s comments was a significant legal development in Minnesota. On September 18, U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson announced that eight Somali migrants had been charged with wire fraud in connection to a sprawling Medicaid billing scheme. The accused—Moktar Hassan Aden, 30; Mustafa Dayib Ali, 29; Khalid Ahmed Dayib, 26; Abdifitah Mohamud Mohamed, 27; Christopher Adesoji Falade, 62; Emmanuel Oluwademilade Falade, 32; Asad Ahmed Adow, 26; and Anwar Ahmed Adow, 25—allegedly exploited the HSS program, which was designed to help people with disabilities and the elderly secure and maintain housing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office and coverage by Warner Todd Huston, the scheme involved creating sham companies that billed Medicaid for services never actually provided. The suspects reportedly submitted long lists of “clients” for whom they claimed to have performed enrollment work, but investigators say many of those clients were simply fictional. The fraud siphoned off approximately $8.4 million in taxpayer dollars, money that was supposed to provide stable housing to Minnesota’s most vulnerable residents.
“Most of these individuals did not receive the stable housing they so desperately needed,” Thompson said during a press conference. “The money was just simply stolen.” He added, “I want to be clear on the scope of the crisis. What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending. I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away. The fraud must be stopped.”
The HSS program itself has become a flashpoint for criticism. Launched in 2020, it was initially projected to cost Minnesota taxpayers $2.5 million per year. But by its second year, costs had jumped to $21 million, and by the end of 2024, the program’s price tag had soared to a staggering $104 million. Federal investigators, including the FBI, described the program as “extremely vulnerable to fraud.” A federal search warrant served on the Minnesota Department of Human Services stated, “Since Minnesota became the first state to offer Medicaid coverage for Housing Stabilization Services, dozens of new companies have been created and enrolled in the program. These companies, and the individuals that run them have taken advantage of the housing crisis and the drug addiction crisis in Minnesota to prey on individuals who need help getting on their feet as they recover from drug addiction.”
The Medicaid fraud case is only the latest in a string of high-profile scandals to rock Minnesota’s state-funded programs. Previous investigations have uncovered widespread waste and fraud in autism clinics, costing tens of millions in state tax dollars, and an infamous $250 million fraud in a coronavirus relief program intended to feed children during the pandemic.
While the eight men indicted this week represent the first group to face charges in the HSS case, U.S. Attorney Thompson made it clear that more indictments are coming. “Thursday’s announcement represented ‘just the first round of indictments’ connected to the fraud scheme,” he said, noting that future charges will come in “waves.”
Trump’s decision to highlight Omar’s Somali heritage and to connect her—albeit indirectly—to the Medicaid fraud case drew sharp criticism from many quarters. Civil rights advocates and members of Minnesota’s Somali-American community viewed the remarks as racially charged and discriminatory, arguing that they unfairly stigmatized an entire community based on the actions of a few individuals. Others, particularly Trump’s supporters, saw the comments as a justified critique of both government mismanagement and what they perceive as a lack of accountability among public officials.
The political fallout was immediate and intense. For Trump, the episode fits a familiar pattern: using high-profile legal cases to attack political opponents and to rally his base around themes of law, order, and national identity. For Omar, it’s another chapter in a long-running saga of personal and political attacks that have defined much of her tenure in Washington. And for Minnesota, the fraud case underscores the urgent need for reform and oversight in state-administered social programs—an issue that transcends party lines and affects some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
As the investigation continues and more details emerge, the story of the Minnesota Medicaid fraud and its political reverberations is likely to remain in the national spotlight. The coming weeks may bring further indictments, more heated rhetoric, and, perhaps, a renewed conversation about how best to balance compassion, accountability, and justice in America’s social safety net.
For now, the only certainty is that the intersection of politics, policy, and identity remains as contentious—and as consequential—as ever.
