Anti-Israel Rep. Ilhan Omar Under Fire Over Somalia, Unexplained Wealth

Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing mounting scrutiny over her family’s sudden rise in wealth and her policy positions on the Horn of Africa, as federal investigators continue to uncover what they describe as industrial-scale fraud in Minnesota’s welfare and social services systems.

The latest questions center on Rose Lake Capital, a venture capital firm launched in 2022 by Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett. In recent months, the firm quietly removed the names and biographies of its senior officers and advisors from its website, including several prominent Democratic operatives and former Obama administration officials. The changes occurred as prosecutors announced additional indictments tied to a sweeping fraud scandal that authorities say may have drained up to $9 billion from state and federally funded programs since 2018.

According to Omar’s congressional financial disclosures, Rose Lake Capital held less than $1,000 in assets in 2023. One year later, the firm was reported as being worth between $5 million and $25 million. Omar and Mynett’s combined net worth was disclosed in 2024 as ranging from $6 million to $30 million, a dramatic reversal from 2019, when Omar entered Congress with negative net worth and no declared assets.

Omar has not been charged with wrongdoing, and her campaign has said it returned donations received from individuals later convicted in the Minnesota fraud cases. Still, watchdog groups and critics argue the timing of the firm’s sudden valuation jump and the removal of leadership details raise unresolved transparency concerns.

Those questions are now intersecting with Omar’s long-standing foreign policy positions on Somalia and her opposition to recognizing Somaliland, a self-governing territory that broke away from Somalia more than three decades ago and has maintained relative stability, internal security, and democratic institutions.

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argued that the Minnesota fraud scandal has sharpened focus on the contrast between Somalia and Somaliland. “The corruption exposed in Minnesota mirrors the governance failures that have plagued Somalia for decades,” Rubin said, while noting that Somaliland has relied largely on internal accountability rather than international aid.

Omar has repeatedly defended Somalia’s territorial integrity and opposed international recognition of Somaliland, a stance Rubin and others say reflects internal Somali political dynamics rather than U.S. strategic interests. “In her Somali-language speeches, she refers to Somalia as her home,” Rubin said, adding that clan politics appear to inform her positions on the issue.

The debate has gained urgency after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had established full diplomatic relations with Somaliland, making it the first UN member state to recognize the territory. The move has reportedly drawn interest from officials in Washington, including President Donald Trump, who has said the issue is under review.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota fraud investigation continues to expand. FBI Director Kash Patel has described the cases uncovered so far as only the beginning of a much larger reckoning.

As federal authorities trace money flows and responsibility, Omar now faces parallel lines of scrutiny: one over the explosive growth of her family’s assets amid historic fraud losses in her home state, and another over a foreign policy stance that critics say increasingly clashes with emerging regional realities.

Neither Omar nor Rose Lake Capital has publicly explained the removal of leadership information from the firm’s website or detailed the source of its rapid valuation increase.