House appropriators plan Wednesday to remove $1 million from Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's lower chamber funding package for a Somali-led organization as the exclusion threatens to defeat a bill that would prevent a shutdown.
Omar's money was earmarked for Generation Hope's “Legal Empowerment Initiative” in her district and was placed in a Commerce, Science and Justice (CJS) van that will provide funding for the departments of Commerce, Energy, Interior and Justice, and other related agencies. Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, told reporters he couldn't let one member's bill derail a carefully negotiated funding bill for the entire year as the Jan. 30 funding deadline quickly approaches. (CONNECTED: Some Democrats appear to be rejecting the prospect of another shutdown as bipartisan spending bill declines)
“I can't afford for a million-dollar project to jeopardize a $184 billion package of bills,” Cole said Wednesday. “If we have an individual project that might create a political issue, I've seen that on our end where we've had to say to a member, 'Look, there may be a way to do this, but we advise you to withdraw it.'
Omar originally requested $1,460,877 for the program, which provides “job-specific training, computer skills development, peer support services and access to education,” as well as services for addiction treatment and mental health needs. according to to the congresswoman's website. Minnesota's two senators, Democratic Sen. Amy, also supported the allocation. Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
Omar did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy praised the removal of Omar's mark in a Wednesday evening message to X.
“Kudos to the good guys. Proud to have worked the last two days to stop the outrageous Ilhan Omar from committing $1 million to Somalia. There is still a lot to be done,” Roy wrote in his post.
URGENT: Give the good guys some credit. Proud to have worked the last two days to stop the outrageous $1 million grant to Ilhan Omar in Somalia. There is still a lot to be done. pic.twitter.com/OulVc7zcim
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 7, 2026
South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, who serves on the Rules Committee, also expressed reservations about the minivan at two rules meetings this week. tell reporters, he will vote for the bill in the House of Representatives as soon as he sees a written agreement to cancel the release of “millions of Somali dollars.”
Connecticut Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, who had a strong support for the minibus on Monday also stressed that the allocation should not cause problems with the overall bill.
“It's discussed and will be resolved. That's the way it is with these public projects. If there's a difficulty, if there's a problem, we try to solve it. Or it comes out,” DeLauro. said Politician on Wednesday.
In 2021, Democrats rebranded the trust funds, which had been banned under Republican leadership for more than a decade, as “community project funding,” a move that still draws ire from conservative Republicans seeking to limit how much taxpayers spend on hyperlocal projects.
Allocation: CURRENCY OF CORRUPTION
If you're not aware, here are some blatant examples of what Congress is trying to pass in Approps:
THREAD 🧵 🧵
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 7, 2026
Roy, who sits on the House Rules Committee and Freedom Caucus, highlighted “currency of corruption” targets in the CJS package, including 1 million dollars for a Democratic Massachusetts Climate Corps Fellowship, Rep. Ayanna Pressleyarea, almost 2 million dollars for Vermont Legal Aid's Justice Mobile program – at the request of Independent Senator Bernie Sanders – and almost 2 million dollars for “replacing doors at a detention center” in North Carolina Republican Representative Addison McDowell's district. (RELATED: Ilhan Omar Tries to Frame Alleged Perpetrators of $1,000,000,000 Fraud Scheme into Victims)
Roy called the various appropriations in the CJS package “nonsense” because no one he represents “wants to see their money go to any good.”
“It is ridiculous to buy votes with corrupt currency in this city,” Roy told reporters on Wednesday.
Part of the deal to repeal Omar's allocation also calls for voting on three of the package's clauses—Energy-Water, Homeland-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science—separately, allowing dissenting Republicans to vote against the CJS measure while supporting the other two. After the vote, the three bills will be reassembled into one package and sent to the Senate.
White House on Wednesday called Congress passed a package of appropriations bills, applauding the spending cuts proposed by the minibus.
“If this bill were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend that he sign it.”
On their website Generation Hope describes itself as a “Somali-led organization” that “works closely with culturally sensitive treatment centers to provide culturally sensitive treatment options to East Africans.” It was founded by Abdirahman Warsame and Hadar Abi in 2019.
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