Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is facing new scrutiny over her personal finances after a watchdog group accused her of defaulting on federal student loans while advocating for debt forgiveness in Congress.
According to the group, Omar’s financial disclosure forms show she owes between $15,001 and $50,000 in outstanding student loan debt — loans backed by the federal government.
“As you know, these loans are guaranteed by the United States Government and Representative Omar’s default would shift the cost of her student loans onto the U.S. taxpayer,” Jones said. “The fact that someone making $174,000 as a Member of Congress cannot pay their student loans is unconscionable and embarrassing.”
The group went further, accusing Omar of using her position to pressure federal agencies not to enforce collection on her loans.
“Adding insult to injury, there are credible claims that she is using her influence as a Member of Congress to bully the Department of Education into not collecting the past-due payments,” Jones wrote.
Jones said his organization filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain any correspondence between Omar and the Department of Education related to her loans.
The letter urged Speaker Johnson to take an unprecedented step to ensure taxpayers are not left on the hook.
“We are calling upon you to instruct the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives to impound Representative Omar’s Congressional salary and pay it out to Nelnet, the servicer of her federal student loan, until such time as her payments are current,” the letter said.
Omar’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
The AAF has frequently targeted Democratic lawmakers with ethics complaints and financial investigations, arguing that elected officials should be held to a higher standard when it comes to managing public and personal funds.
Critics say the revelations highlight a potential conflict of interest for Omar, who has been one of the most vocal advocates of widespread student debt cancellation. She has repeatedly called for full forgiveness of federal student loans, framing the issue as one of economic justice.
But the watchdog group says her personal situation undermines that message.
“If you’re in default on taxpayer-backed loans and using your office to influence policy that could personally benefit you, that’s an ethical red flag,” Jones said.
Omar’s finances have drawn attention before. In 2023, the financial analytics firm Quiver Quantitative noted a sharp change in her disclosures over the years.
“When she first filed in 2019, she didn’t disclose any assets,” the firm wrote at the time. “Her recent filing shows assets worth up to $288,000. However, she now has up to $100,000 in credit card debt, along with up to $50,000 of existing student loan debt.”
The latest claims add to the list of controversies surrounding the congresswoman, who has faced ethics complaints and campaign finance questions in the past.
Whether the House takes action remains to be seen, but AAF says it will continue pressing for transparency — and repayment.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who just emerged from the ‘Schumer Shutdown’ politically wounded, is watching his party self-destruct before his eyes, and it could even lead to his own undoing, according to political observers who are watching things play out in the nation’s capital.
That opinion is shared by conservative radio host and professor Hugh Hewitt, who predicted that Schumer would not win a primary contest against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) if she chooses to run against him as their Democratic Party shifts further and further to the hard left.
“Before I let you go, I know you’re not a gambling man, but does Chuck Schumer survive this? I mean, it seems designed to insulate him from AOC, and if that was his goal, I don’t think it worked,” Fox News host and former GOP congressman Trey Gowdy asked Hewitt during a segment on his Sunday show.
“I do think he survives it for a very selfish reason by the other Democrats. Nobody wants that job. Someone’s going to have to open the government again. He’s already got — he’s a pin cushion of arrows, so there’s nothing he can really lose,” Hewitt began before dropping his prediction.
“He’s not going to win if AOC runs against him in 2028. I would not be surprised if he is announcing his retirement early in 2027 to clear the way. He’s been in government for 50-plus years. Sometimes it’s time to go home and there’s no reason not to use that if a guy has been beat up this badly, and boy, has he been beaten up pretty badly,” he added.
A New York Post editorial board piece published a week ago noted that rank-and-file Democrats are largely dispirited and frustrated after a lengthy shutdown failed to win concessions from majority Republicans on issues important to their party.
“Democrats pointlessly kept the government shut down for 41 days (and still counting!), purely to satisfy their squalling left flank’s need to do something to ‘resist’ President Donald Trump,” the editorial began.
“After they shut it down, they opted to claim the point was to force the GOP to extend expiring Covid-era Affordable Care Act subsidies — though the Dems themselves had set the expiration date back in 2021,” it continued. “Yet the true reason was simply that Democratic grassroots activists and donors are furious that they can’t get their way in Washington, and insisted that their congresscritters express their rage.
“After they shut it down, they opted to claim the point was to force the GOP to extend expiring Covid-era Affordable Care Act subsidies — though the Dems themselves had set the expiration date back in 2021,” it continued. “Yet the true reason was simply that Democratic grassroots activists and donors are furious that they can’t get their way in Washington, and insisted that their congresscritters express their rage.
“It doesn’t matter that they’re near-powerless because they lost last year’s elections. That is, ‘saving democracy’ never had anything to do with respecting the wishes of the majority of voters; it always meant simply ‘Stop Orange Man!’” the op-ed continued, even if it meant harming the country or impeding Trump policies that improve the lives of all Americans.
The op-ed noted, too, that the most left-wing base of the Democratic Party in Congress is livid with Schumer, with some even calling for him to be removed.
“Sen. Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” postured Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
There have been rumors for months that AOC has been eyeing a primary challenge to Schumer, which is why he bent to her wing of the party to keep the government shuttered.
A new report from CNN says that, if she does challenge Schumer, AOC would likely win.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten reported Tuesday that Schumer’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level for any Democratic Senate leader since at least 1985.