Ilhan Omar

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Republican politicians are targeting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for censure for a recent viral speech – but it turns out her words were badly translated.
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar has been under heavy criticism in response to a speech she made to her constituents in Minneapolis Sunday (Jan. 27), where it was perceived that she was badmouthing the American government in favor of Somalia. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia claimed that Omar’s words were “treasonous” and proved she was a foreign agent, going so far as to introduce a motion to censure the Somali-American lawmaker.

House of Representatives Majority Whip Tom Emmer, also of Minnesota, ripped Omar on X, formerly Twitter, in a post saying he was “demanding an ethics investigation into Ilhan Omar’s appalling, Somalia-first comments.”

The event Rep. Omar attended was in celebration of a recent election in the Puntland region of Somalia. Her remarks turned to the recently heated issue of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland reaching a deal for Ethiopia (which is landlocked) to have access to the port there for 50 years. The republic is not internationally recognized – the deal would see Ethiopia be the first nation to do so. Viral accounts initially claimed that Omar said “Somalians first, Muslims second,” in her remarks, and that “The U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders.”
But further investigation and a more precise translation from reporters at the Minnesota Reformer, further substantiated by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune saw that the initial viral clip was poorly translated and distorted Omar’s remarks. Their translations revealed that Omar said: “My answer was the U.S. government will do what we tell the U.S. government to do. We as Somalis should have that confidence in ourselves.” Rep. Omar would issue a statement through her office in agreement and later would jab critics in a post on X about improperly labeling the Somali people.

Republicans are seeking to vote on the censure motion brought by Greene next week. If successful, it would see Rep. Omar stripped of her seat on the budgeting, education and workforce committees in the House of Representatives. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted the situation in a press conference, calling it a  “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us.”