Rep. Ilhan Omar faces calls to ‘resign in disgrace’ over speech in support of Somalia

Omar claims the translation of her speech was “not only slanted, but completely off.”

New York Post

By Victor Nava

A top House Republican called on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to resign Monday for delivering a speech in which her critics say she placed Somali interests ahead of American ones.

“Ilhan Omar’s appalling, Somalia-first comments are a slap in the face to the Minnesotans she was elected to serve and a direct violation of her oath of office,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) wrote on X. “She should resign in disgrace.”

Omar, the first Somali American in Congress, appeared to assure her Somali American constituents that she would do everything in her power to prevent the disputed, breakaway Republic of Somaliland from entering into a sea-access deal with landlocked Ethiopia.

A clip of the Minnesota lawmaker went viral with over 2.6 million views after it was posted on X, with a translation saying Omar had said: “As Somalis, one day we will go after our missing territories.”

The congresswoman claims her remarks were lost in translation.

“It’s not only slanted but completely off,” Omar said of the subtitles in a video of her speech shared by Republic of Somaliland Foreign Minister Rhoda Elmi. “But I wouldn’t expect more from these propagandists.”

Ilhan Omar — Omar claims her remarks were lost in translation.AFP via Getty Images

“While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia’s sea,” Omar said during the Jan. 27 speech, according to a translation she deemed to be more accurate. “The United States will not back others to rob us. So, do not lose sleep over that.”

Elmi urged House leadership and Democrats to “take note of [Omar’s] public conduct,” arguing that the speech was “unbecoming [of] a United States Congresswoman.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) slammed Omar for vowing to protect Somalia’s borders while opposing efforts to shore up the US-Mexico border…