Why the Ilhan Omar saga isn't going away

President Donald Trump has his favorite riffs during campaign rallies.He’s recently complimented the physique of Sen.Jon Husted, R-Ohio.
He still calls out former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.But in recent weeks, the president spun Rep.Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., into heavy rotation on his playlist.
The Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department are now probing Omar for alleged immigration fraud and financial disclosure reports.TRUMP SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD GO TO JAIL OR BE DEPORTED, CALLS HER ‘A DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY’Rep.Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, in which she blamed President Donald Trump for death threats and attacks against her.
(AP Photo/Adam Gray)"What she did was use a fake name and other things that are fake," the president groused about Omar."She used the fake name to be sworn in.
I assume she must immediately resign from Congress."Trump argued that Democrats "just conceded her seat."They didn’t.And the president declared that "she will not be legally allowed to be a member of that august body of politicians."Not accurate.The president doesn’t decide who gets to sit in Congress.Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants that power to the House and Senate.
It charges both bodies with authority to "be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members." The Constitution goes on to say that the House and Senate may "punish its Members for Disorderly Behavior; and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member."Rep.Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attends a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on Jan.
16, 2026, in St.Paul, Minn.
(Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)We bring up those responsibilities because it’s possible that the House may need to tangle with the "qualifications" of Omar.Especially since the New York Times reported that the Minnesota Democrat faced scrutiny by the Obama-era Justice Department in 2016.
Moreover, that inquiry says the f...