SENATOR KENNEDY DELIVERS FATAL BLOW TO OMAR'S CAREER AS SHE BLAMES TRUMP FOR SOMALI PANIC
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The political career of Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) may have suffered a terminal blow today, not at the ballot box, but on the floor of the United States Senate.
The confrontation began in Minnesota, where tensions have reached a breaking point. With reports of President Trump’s mass deportation force mobilizing for targeted operations in the Midwest, Omar held an emergency press conference to sound the alarm over what she described as a humanitarian crisis unfolding on American soil.
Visibly shaken, Omar described a Somali community "paralyzed by fear," where mothers are terrified to answer their phones and fathers sleep in shifts, dreading the knock on the door that could tear their families apart forever.
"Exploding Death Threats"
Omar laid the blame squarely at the feet of Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting violence that has resulted in an explosion of death threats against her and her constituents.
“Donald Trump is not just enforcing the law; he is hunting a community,” Omar declared, her voice trembling with indignation. “His rhetoric has put a target on our backs. My office is flooded with death threats. My people are living in terror that one phone call, one tip from a racist neighbor, will end their lives in this country. This is ethnic cleansing disguised as policy.”
She painted a picture of innocent families being victimized by a "white nationalist agenda," pleading for national sympathy and positioning herself as the shield for the vulnerable.
Kennedy’s Career-Ending Rebuttal
But in Washington, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) watched the press conference with a different perspective. Known for his folksy but cutting wit, Kennedy took to the Senate floor shortly after Omar’s remarks and delivered a rebuttal that political analysts are saying effectively ended her moral authority.
Kennedy didn't deny the tension. He redefined its source.
“The Congresswoman is very upset today,” Kennedy began, peering over his glasses with clinical detachment. “She says she is receiving threats. She says her community is afraid. And she blames President Trump for lighting the match.”
He paused, letting the silence build before delivering the strike.
“But Congresswoman, you need to learn the difference between a threat and a consequence. You spent years telling your community that America is a hateful, racist, evil place. You spent years spitting on the country that took you in. You called us villains while cashing our checks.”
Kennedy leaned into the microphone, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper that echoed through the chamber:
“You aren’t receiving death threats, Congresswoman. You are receiving the receipts for the division you ordered. You lit the fire with your rhetoric, and now you’re screaming because it got too hot in the kitchen. That isn’t a tragedy. That’s just poetic justice.”
He concluded with a line that stripped away her victimhood entirely: "The fear in Minnesota isn't because Donald Trump is a monster. It's because for the first time in your career, the law has finally arrived to collect the debt you owe."
House fails to adopt Iran war powers resolution
The House on Thursday failed to adopt a war powers resolution that attempted to curtail President Donald Trump's military actions in Iran.
It failed by a vote of 212-219. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson bucked GOP leaders by voting in favor; four Democrats voted against the resolution: Reps. Henry Cuellar, Jared Golden, Greg Landsman and Juan Vargas.
The resolution, which only expresses the sentiment of Congress, called on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force is enacted.
The measure was non-binding and not subject to the president's signature or veto.
Speaker Mike Johnson argued Wednesday that the United States is "not at war" but only engaged in a "defensive operation" in Iran.
“We're not at war right now,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “We're in -- four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation."
Later on Wednesday, Trump contradicted Johnson, repeatedly referring to the conflict in Iran as a "war" hours after Johnson said it wasn't.
Sitting next to Johnson during a roundtable on energy prices, Trump said "we're doing very well on -- on the war front, to put it mildly."
A U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launches from an undisclosed location in support Operation Epic Fury.
US Army
Johnson had said that the "passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea."
"It would empower our enemies. It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the U.S. military and the commander in chief away from completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe," he said Wednesday.
On Wednesday Senate Democrats failed to meet a 51-vote threshold on an alternate Iran war powers resolution sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Sen. Rand Paul. The resolution failed behind a 47-53 tally.
Ilhan Omar Guest Arrested After Demonstrating During Trump’s SOTU
One of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s invited guests was arrested Tuesday night after demonstrating during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, according to U.S. Capitol Police. Aliya M. Rahman, 43, of Minneapolis, was taken into custody after she stood and refused repeated orders to sit down in the House gallery.
“All State of the Union tickets clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited,” Capitol Police said in a statement. “At approximately 10:07 p.m., a person in the House Gallery started demonstrating during tonight’s State of the Union Address. The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” The New York Times
reported.
“It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings, so 43-year-old Aliya M. Rahman of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was arrested for D.C. Code §10-503.16 — Unlawful Conduct, Disruption of Congress,” the statement added.
Rahman was later issued a citation release, which police described as routine.
Omar, D-Minn., invited Rahman as one of four guests attending the address. The Minnesota Democrat has been critical of Trump’s immigration enforcement policies and previously described Rahman as someone seeking accountability for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Rahman made headlines in January after being detained by ICE officers in Minneapolis. Federal officials said she ignored repeated commands to move her vehicle away from an active enforcement scene and interfered with agents. Authorities said she was arrested after refusing to comply and engaging in obstructive conduct.
Rahman and her attorney have disputed that account.
In a statement to Newsweek following Tuesday’s arrest, her attorney, Alexa Van Brunt, said Rahman was targeted.
“Aliya Rahman was targeted at the State of the Union last night,” Van Brunt said. “After standing up in silence during the speech, Aliya was quickly taken away and arrested for ‘unlawful conduct’ and released just before 4 a.m. today. There is nothing unlawful about standing in silence and this is a blatant abuse of power. She was not disruptive or disrespectful. She was not holding a sign, making gestures, or wearing protest gear. She was simply standing in silence.”
Capitol Police said demonstrating of any kind is prohibited inside the chamber during a joint session of Congress.
Rahman previously told MS Now that attending the address felt necessary.
“I almost don’t feel like it was a choice,” she said. “I’m just so painfully aware that what happened to me is a very common experience in this country, except for the part where I got out and I got to come back to my community.”
“Honestly, the emotional toll of it is the reason that I think it’s still important to come be in front of people who are happy this happened to me or think I deserve worse,” she added.
The arrest came as Trump used the address to emphasize border security and immigration enforcement.
Rep. Omar responded to the arrest.
“My guest, Aliya Rahman, stood up silently in the gallery during the president’s speech for a short period of time, part of which other guests were also standing. For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘Unlawful Conduct,’” she said in a press release on her official website.
“Reports indicate she was aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention. She was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and later booked at the United States Capitol Police headquarters, the representative said.
“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred, she said.
