Transcript: Rep. Ilhan Omar on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 11, 2026
The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 11, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we're joined now by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents a large portion of that city. It's good to have you here.
REP. ILHAN OMAR: I represent the whole city. Thank you for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Thank you. The Trump administration is actively telling the public that journalists are misleading them. You heard what was just reported from the scene. What we know is that Renee Macklin Good and her partner were protesters. They were driving around Minneapolis. They were recording what some of these ICE enforcement officers were doing. And the local police chief says Macklin Good blocked the street with her car. President Trump has said that the partner was a paid agitator, that's the phrase he used. Secretary Noem alleged this was an act of terrorism. Given how much heat there is and the administration's scrutiny, would you tell Americans it's too dangerous to demonstrate and to go out and document as she was doing?
REP. OMAR: I think it is really important for Americans to record to create the level of accountability and transparency that we need. What we have seen in Minneapolis is ICE agents oftentimes jumping out of their cars. These are unmarked cars. Oftentimes they're wearing a mask. They're approaching, running towards cars. They're pulling people out of those cars. Oftentimes these people are citizens. Oftentimes these people have documentation of their legal right to be in this country, and we know that DHS has lied repeatedly when it comes to these accounts, so it is even more important for there to be recording from eyewitnesses every single time these actions are taking place.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you see from the recordings that we see, is there anything that you believe was- that was being done that should not have been done by Macklin Good? The administration says she was blocking the road. They are claiming this is an act of terrorism.
REP. OMAR: Yeah. Renee Nicole Good, as you hear her say, she's not mad. She's sitting in her car peacefully, waving cars to get by this agent, as you see, gets out of his car, automatically starts running towards her, trying to open her door. She feels scared, she tries to turn the wheel away. And then you see the other officer- who can clearly see the car is moving, move towards the front of the car. Which, if they are saying that he has 10 years on service and is trained, he should know that you shouldn't be trying to get in front of a moving car, and so it is not acceptable for Kristi Noem and the president and the vice president to make these kind of judgments without there being a full investigation, even though we can see in the videos that have been produced so far that what they are describing is really not what is taking place. And so if they're saying that we shouldn't believe our eyes, then let the investigation take place before you characterize this mother of three as a domestic terrorist. Prove to us what documentation you have. That, one, that she was paid. Two, that she was agitating when we can hear her say she's not mad, she's not upset. She's clearly trying to wave cars to bypass her. And so it's just- this level of rhetoric is unjustifiable to the American people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Just quickly on that you said accountability, and it's important for people to document what's happening. I just want to be abundantly clear, because the administration says that their officers are being stalked and harassed. When you say accountability, you are only describing recording like she was doing?
REP. OMAR: I think it is fair for citizens to document what law enforcement is doing–
MARGARET BRENNAN: There's been violence against some of these agents as well.
REP. OMAR: Well, there's also been violence against residents in Minneapolis.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There right now is a lot of heat on your state. Treasury Secretary Bessent called Minnesota ground zero for what may be the most egregious welfare scam in our nation's history to date. 85 of the 98 people who were charged by the Justice Department with this welfare scheme are Somali. And you know this, the treasury secretary is probing whether any of the money was somehow funneled outside the country, he actually issued new standards. He's going to make it- make someone disclose if they receive public assistance when they try to wire money out of the country, and he's lowered the bar for suspicious activity. What is the practical impact of doing that in the community?
REP. OMAR: It's just creating fear. What they are doing is creating confusion, chaos, trying to intimidate people from being able to exercise their regular, normal activities that they would. There is no justification in any of the things that they say. The 87 people that you've described as being investigated, many of them adjudicated, all happened under the Biden administration. There is no justification for this surge. We know that ICE has the ability to conduct raids. There is no reason have over 2000 people coming in to our city and creating the level of terror that they have created.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the administration argues that they have to do it because the state failed to, right--
REP. OMAR: The state- the federal government and the state have been working peacefully together and have brought justice to these 87 people that you've described. None of the surge that they have conducted has produced any sort of criminal activity. They haven't been able to charge anyone as of yet.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the administration also announced they're going to cut food stamps to Minnesota because they say some of the food stamp money had been embezzled. Are you confident--
REP. OMAR: And those are the things that are being litigated, and it is again, unconstitutional for them to do so.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But is it- are you confident that the fraud that has been discovered is no longer being conducted now? Is there any justification for saying this food stamp money is somehow being misused?
REP. OMAR: There are ways to investigate fraud, which we have been doing in Minnesota, which the federal government has been doing under the Biden administration. There is no reason for them to use this level of rhetoric. There is no reason for them to fully stop these- funding these programs. The only reason they are doing that is for PR purposes, and it is harming our state. It is harming my constituents, and it is creating the kind of chaos and confusion that no one needs in this moment.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Because the administration and many conservative allies in the administration argue that this is still ongoing. There was that conservative influencer who went out and posted this video that went viral, alleging that daycare facilities were pocketing public funds--
[CROSSTALK]
REP. OMAR: And as you know, he went hours where these businesses were not operating.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yep, CBS went out and did its own investigation--
REP. OMAR: --yeah which, again creates the level of confusion and chaos that is not necessary in a moment when we are trying to deal with a serious problem that needs serious people to be able to address it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you think- there was no recorded evidence of fraud, according to the CBS investigation that was conducted, but Governor Walz did choose to not run for reelection. He dropped out of the race because of all of this.
REP. OMAR: Because he wants to focus on defending our state and not defending a seat.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think there has been a sufficient level of accountability and ownership of the failure to have oversight here? Do you think this ends?
REP. OMAR: That is what we want. We want to collaborately [sic] work with the administration to try to make sure that there is no fraud that's being perpetuated on our state. What we do not want is the level of terror, of confusion, of chaos that is being created without any results in this moment.
[END CROSSTALK]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Very quickly, before I let you go, the Chair Oversight Committee said that he wants to refer you to the Ethics Committee.
REP. OMAR: I've been referred like 100 times, so go ahead.
MARGARET BRENNAN: He's looking at your husband's income and net worth. He said it was tied to private equity investment funds, but he seems to be insinuating that you personally are tied into this welfare scam. How do you respond to that?
REP. OMAR: Ever since I've gotten to Congress, they have been doing these sort of weird ethics investigations, none of them have yielded anything because I have been as transparent as I can be, and there is nothing wrong with any documentation that I have ever provided to the federal government.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Congresswoman Omar, thank you for joining us today. 'Face the Nation' will be back in one minute. Stay with us.
