Amid a “bizarre” federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s citizenship, President Donald Trump called on the Minnesota Democrat to “IMMEDIATELY resign” from her seat, accusing her of using a fake name.
“Please inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives, James Michael Johnson, that the Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat,” Trump said in a Truth Social Post on Thursday, Oct 22.
“Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, her real name, has openly admitted to FRAUD, and she will not be legally allowed to be a Member of this August Body from this point forth,” Trump continued.
Trump’s post on Oct. 22 came amid a probe from the Trump administration aimed at revoking Omar’s American citizenship and deporting her, if investigators can prove that she or her relatives
lied to immigration authorities when she became a citizen, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.
In an appearance on Fox News on Oct. 22, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, DC, reiterated the president’s point, saying Omar’s name could be part of the ongoing probe.
“So the question is, who is Ilhan Omar, and has she followed all of the laws as it relates to naturalization and immigration,” Pirro said.
A scare tactic
In an appearance on MSNOW this week, Omar said the probe, which included a predawn search of her Washington, DC, home, was part of a scare tactic by the Trump administration.
"You don’t show up to somebody’s house that early in the morning unless you’re trying to freak them out," she said.
The raid at her home began at 6 a.m., she said, describing how she had been asleep for barely two and a half hours when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pounded on the front and back doors. She said she thought something was on fire.
When they left, Omar said, they carried 17 items, among them her youngest daughter’s first phone, a camera her husband’s uncle had kept from his years in the Navy, and a book her husband had been using to learn Somali.
USA TODAY’s María Luisa Paúl and Zachary Schermele contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says Rep. Ilhan Omar should resign 'immediately' amid federal probe
