Ilhan Omar has spent her career in Congress making Americans question whose side she is on.
One move she made this week answered that question in a way she cannot walk back.
What she slipped into the defense bill – and who it protects – is now in front of every member of Congress.
Ilhan Omar Moves to Repeal the Alien Enemies Act and Defang Terror Designations
Ilhan Omar filed nine amendments to the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act last week.
One of them, Amendment #1273, asserts that a congressional Foreign Terrorist Organization designation carries no military authorization on its own – meaning the president would need separate approval before ordering a strike.
That is not procedure – that is a leash on the commander in chief.
Right now, al-Qaeda, Hamas, ISIS, and the Sinaloa Cartel are all congressionally designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Matt O'Brien – former immigration judge and deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform – told the Daily Signal that Omar is "clearly seeking to curtail any legal authorities that permit the president to control the borders and prohibit foreign national security and public safety threats from entering the United States."
The Sinaloa Cartel killed nearly 600 people in June 2025 alone.
Omar Filed Her NDAA Amendments the Same Week AFRICOM Bombed al-Shabaab
AFRICOM struck al-Shabaab targets in Somalia on July 3.
The strike hit 90 kilometers west of Mogadishu as part of a campaign that has produced 49 airstrikes in Somalia through April of this year, against 124 in all of 2025.
Al-Shabaab is an al-Qaeda affiliate that has operated out of Somalia for nearly two decades, carried out mass-casualty bombings across East Africa, and tried to kill Somalia's president as recently as March 2025.
Omar was born in Mogadishu and represents the largest Somali-American population in the United States.
She also filed an amendment to repeal the Alien Enemies Act – the same law Trump used to deport Tren de Aragua gang members.
A third amendment strips Israel's War Reserve Stockpile Authority, cutting off the pre-positioned weapons Israel draws on when fighting Hamas and Hezbollah.
Every amendment in the package moves in the same direction: less authority for America to strike, more room for designated terrorist groups to operate.
Ilhan Omar Defended al-Shabaab's Financier After the Mogadishu Bombing
In December 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed an investigation into whether Minnesota welfare fraud money – more than $1 billion drained from federal child nutrition programs – was routed to al-Shabaab.
Omar's former campaign official, Guhaad Hashi Said, entered a guilty plea for operating a fraudulent food distribution site inside that scheme.
Omar promoted Feeding Our Future, the now-defunct nonprofit at the center of the fraud, in a video.
Her 2018 election-night victory party was held at Safari Restaurant – a venue federal prosecutors later named in the case.
No charges have been filed against Omar.
The Treasury is still tracking where the money went.
In 2019, Omar publicly called on Somali and peacekeeping forces to protect Hormuud Telecommunications after Kenyan forces destroyed its equipment inside Somalia.
Hormuud's founder holds a U.S. designation as a financier of al-Shabaab.
Hormuud employees had been convicted the prior year for their role in the October 2017 Mogadishu truck bombing, Somalia's single deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 582 people.
The Pattern Is the Story
In April, Omar was one of 53 House Democrat members who voted against designating Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Iran bankrolls Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee say they plan to force Democrat members to answer for these votes on the record.
Six days before Omar filed her amendments, American aircraft were over Somalia killing al-Shabaab fighters.
Congress should demand she explain – by name – who benefits when those flights stop.
Sources:
- Pedro Rodriguez, "Ilhan Omar Targets Alien Enemies Act Repeal," The Daily Signal, July 9, 2026.
- David Manney, "Why Is Ilhan Omar Making It Harder to Hit Terror Groups?" PJ Media, July 9, 2026.
- "U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting al-Shabaab," AFRICOM Public Affairs, July 5, 2026.
- John Vandiver, "US Airstrikes in Somalia Return After Brief Pause," Stars and Stripes, June 22, 2026.
- Valerie Richardson, "Ilhan Omar's Tangled Web of Somali Fraud," The Washington Times, December 9, 2025.