Ilhan Omar says she's frustrated since Somalis are also victims in 'Feeding Our Future' scam

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., expressed frustration Sunday with the framing of the massive "Feeding Our Future" fraud scheme that's embroiled members of the Somali community in her state, saying many Somalis were victims as well since they could have benefited from the program.

"Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan called the extent of the scam "shocking," noting it was the Biden-era Department of Justice that said it was the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation and the majority of the reported offenders were Somalis, adding to the "spotlight" on Omar's community.

"Why do you think this fraud was allowed to get so widespread?" Brennan asked.

"I want to say this also has an impact on Somalis, because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota," Omar said. "We also could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen. So it's been really frustrating for people to not acknowledge the fact that we're also, as Minnesotans, as taxpayers, really upset and angry about the fraud that has occurred."

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA’S ‘FEEDING OUR FUTURE’ FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S LATEST CRACKDOWN

Brennan asked Omar if there had been a failure by the Minnesota state government, which is dominated by Democrats.

"That is what I alluded to in my letter that I had sent to the Secretary of AG was to see where things were going wrong. How can this amount of money disappear fraudulently without there being alarms set off?" Omar asked. "And it is something that, you know, we have to continue to investigate. We have to continue to ask those questions."

President Donald Trump and other officials have zeroed in on this and other alleged fraud schemes in recent weeks, arguing that the criminal activity is a result of mismanagement and "incompetence" from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and former vice presidential candidate.

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Trump and Omar have traded barbs in recent days as well, with Trump calling Somalis "garbage" and saying they should return to their home country. Omar and other critics have called the remarks bigoted and said Trump is trying to distract from his own policy failings.

The back-and-forth comes as Minnesota has come under fresh scrutiny for alleged mismanagement of federal funds, including in distributing money for the nonprofit "Feeding Our Future" program.

Prosecutors have labeled the fraud scheme in the state as the largest pandemic fraud scheme in the country, stemming from allegations that the Minnesota nonprofit and its associates defrauded federal child-nutrition programs for hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 aid.

The New York Times reported last month, "Over the last five years, law enforcement officials say, fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora as scores of individuals made small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never provided."

$1 BILLION REPORTEDLY STOLEN IN FRAUD UNDER MINNESOTA GOV. WALZ

Omar said she was one of the first members of Congress who inquired about what she called a "reprehensible" scam.

Omar previously told local outlet KARE 11 News, "The alleged fraud scheme orchestrated by ‘Feeding Our Future’ is reprehensible. Using the guise of feeding children to funnel millions of dollars toward extravagant expenses is abhorrent, and anyone who participated in this scheme must be held accountable."

Fox News Digital's Brenna Deppisch and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Newsom team torched for image posted in response to mocking of gov's 'testicle-crushing' sitting pose

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to a New York Post article mocking his "testicle-crushing" sitting pose with a photo of the politician in an exaggerated, contorted position that quickly went viral.

"Democracy requires flexibility," Newsom’s office wrote in the post accompanying the image.

HALLE BERRY STUNS CROWD BY CRITICIZING GAVIN NEWSOM, SAYS HE ‘PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT’

The California governor had been ridiculed online after video from his appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday showed him sitting with his legs tightly crossed, prompting a wave of joking commentary on social media.

"I have never seen a man crush his testicles harder than this dude," said one user.

LIBERAL COMEDIAN HAS HAD ENOUGH OF NEWSOM'S TRUMP-LIKE TWITTER ANTICS 

The press office’s exaggerated photo sparked another round of memes and quips from users, questioning whether the governor’s team had actually meant to post it.

"They...  Posted this?" one man wrote. 

"Gavin illustrating his taxation policy on your average California residence," said another user.

"What the. When they say ‘the Left can't meme,’ they're really not kidding," another man chimed in.

Newsom himself responded to the viral photo, writing on X, "WOW!"

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