Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, is reportedly considering forcing a House vote to expel Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota. Fine told Axios on Wednesday that he is actively weighing the move.
He said the potential action would be based on allegations that Omar married her brother, along with what he described as her “general embrace of Muslim terror,” Axios reported.
“I don’t think she should be a citizen, let alone a member of Congress,” Fine told the outlet.
The comments followed a fundraising email from Omar’s campaign calling for Fine to be expelled from Congress over past remarks in which he said Muslims should be “destroyed.”
“I won’t send out fundraising emails calling for her expulsion,” Fine told Axios. “If I’m going to do that, you will see me bring the piece of paper. And I am actively considering that.”
Axios noted that expelling a member of the House requires a two-thirds vote.
With Republicans holding only a narrow majority, at least 85 Democrats would need to support the effort for it to succeed.
Omar has also faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks related to fraud tied to the Somali community in her Minnesota district.
The controversy centers on the Minnesota “Feeding Our Future” program, which authorities have linked to approximately $250 million in fraud connected to the MEALS Act passed during COVID lockdowns.
Omar supported the legislation and has defended her role.
“Do you regret pushing for that bill, the MEALS Act? Do you think it led to the fraud?” Fox News reporter Nicholas Ballasy asked Omar earlier this month, according to Fox News.
“Absolutely not, it did help feed kids,” Omar replied.
President Donald Trump has also sharply criticized Omar in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Trump referred to the congresswoman as “garbage” and raised broader concerns about large scale migration from Third World nations such as Somalia, according to NBC News.
“I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you, okay,” Trump said.
“Somebody will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care,” he added.
“I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason,” Trump continued.
“Her friends are garbage,” Trump said, referring to Omar. “These aren’t people that work. These aren’t people that say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great.’ These are people that do nothing but complain.”
Republican challenger John Nagel is accusing Rep. Omar of being closely linked to the $1 billion Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, which is based in her Minneapolis congressional district. Nagel, who is running against Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, claims that legislation introduced by Omar contributed to the circumstances that allowed the fraud to take place.
“Where did this actually start?” Nagel said, Townhall reported. “She passed legislation. Her legislation actually started it, and it allowed people to get into Feeding Our Future.” Nagel pointed to the geographic concentration of the fraud.
“If you look at where the fraud is, it’s primarily her district, the district that I’m running in against her,” he said. “And it’s really odd to think that all the fraud just happened in a particular area.”
Omar introduced the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act, known as the MEALS Act, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill allowed states to provide free meals to children during school closures through alternative methods such as grab-and-go distribution and eased eligibility requirements. Omar has denied any wrongdoing.
The legislation was passed by Congress with bipartisan support.
Nagel further alleged that individuals connected to Omar’s political circle financially benefited from the fraud scheme. He said Omar held campaign events at Safari Restaurant, a business tied to the Feeding Our Future investigation, and claimed she had personal familiarity with one of the restaurant’s owners who has since been convicted.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, will have to deal with a political test this fall when Congress meets again. Lawmakers will be debating a new funding bill to keep the government open.
With President Donald Trump in his second term, Democratic voters across the country are getting more and more upset with what they see as Congress’s weak response to his plan. Democrats in Congress don’t have a majority in either the House or the Senate, so they can’t stop his plans from going through. However, people have asked them to take stronger action.
In March, Schumer got a lot of negative feedback from Democrats when he didn’t block a stopgap bill led by Republicans that was meant to keep the government open. Schumer and eight other Democrats voted for a motion to allow discussion on the bill, but in the end, they voted against passing it. Democratic critics say that vote, on the other hand, let it get past the filibuster and become law.
They have until October 1 to pass a set of bills that will pay the government until the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026. Republicans have narrow majorities in both houses, with a 219-212 edge in the House and a 53-47 edge in the Senate.
This is a problem for both parties. For example, Republican leaders will have to find a way to please both moderates in split districts and conservatives who support the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement.
However, Democrats like Schumer will be put to the test as they try to please Democratic voters while also working with Republicans to get some changes made to the bills.
IIn March, Democrats from all factions were frustrated that Schumer and other Democrats were advancing the spending bill despite Republicans not taking any actions to secure his support, which critics claimed would result in cuts to important programs. Democrats have asked Schumer to run for office again or step down as party leader, but he has refused to do either.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also a New York Democrat, sent a letter to GOP leadership urging a meeting to “discuss the need to avert a painful, unnecessary lapse in government funding and to address the healthcare crisis Republicans have triggered in America.”
This comes as Democrats are in serious trouble.
The Democratic Party is grappling with a stunning collapse in voter registrations as Republicans surge nationwide, fueled by President Trump’s expanding political coalition.
According to a New York Times analysis of registration data from L2, a nonpartisan firm that tracks voter rolls, more new voters registered as Republicans than Democrats for the first time since 2018.
The shift comes after the 2024 election, when Trump expanded his reach among men, younger voters, and Latinos, reshaping traditional assumptions about partisan loyalties.
The data paints a sobering picture for Democrats. “Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot,” the Times report said.
The net effect was a 4.5 million-voter swing: Democrats shed about 2.1 million registrants, while Republicans gained 2.4 million.
Even in states long considered reliably Democratic, the erosion has been evident. California, one of the largest blue states where voters declare party affiliation, saw significant Democratic losses.
By contrast, many Republican-led states such as Texas do not track partisan registration, meaning the overall national picture may underestimate GOP strength.
Still, the available numbers show a dramatic narrowing of the Democratic advantage. In the 30 states and Washington, D.C., that require voters to register by party, Democrats’ 11-point lead over Republicans in 2020 fell to just over six points in 2024.
Michael Pruser, director of data science for Decision Desk HQ, told the Times the trend has been relentless. “I don’t want to say, ‘The death cycle of the Democratic Party,’ but there seems to be no end to this,” Pruser said. “There is no silver lining or cavalry coming across the hill. This is month after month, year after year.”
The Republican gains have been particularly notable in swing states where partisan registration data is available.