Rep. Ilhan Omar broke her silence on questions about her connection to Minnesota's Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, calling allegations that she knew about the scheme "flat-out false" and pointing the finger at the Trump administration's regulatory framework, even as a state legislative committee and federal officials laid responsibility squarely at the feet of Minnesota's own leadership.

Omar issued a written statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, her first direct public response after weeks of mounting scrutiny from state investigators, federal officials, and critics who have pressed her to explain what she knew about one of the largest COVID-era fraud schemes in American history.

The statement came days after the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee released its final report on the scandal, a report that accused Gov. Tim Walz's administration of fostering a "culture of tolerance" that let fraudsters steal billions in taxpayer dollars. The same report singled out Omar's MEALS Act legislation for having "took the guardrails off" federal nutrition programs, opening the door for for-profit restaurants to participate and allowing "grab-and-go" flexibilities that made the fraud easier to execute.

Omar's defense: blame the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue

Omar's strategy in the statement was clear: redirect attention from Minneapolis to Washington, and from her own legislation to the executive branch that implemented it.

"The MEALS Act was signed into law by President Trump and passed with bipartisan support as part of a broader legislative package. Trump's USDA Secretary set the regulatory framework during the rollout of the program. I have always championed feeding kids and will continue to ensure our children do not go hungry."

She also insisted she acted swiftly once the fraud surfaced.

"Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false."

Omar said that the "moment this fraud came to light," she "immediately sent a letter to the USDA Secretary demanding answers and accountability." She added that she was "grateful that Aimee Bock and every individual involved in this abhorrent scheme are being held accountable for defrauding taxpayers and betraying vulnerable children."

That account did not go unchallenged.

State investigator calls Omar's timeline 'revisionist history'

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, the Republican chair of the fraud oversight committee, offered a blunt rebuttal. Robbins told Fox News Digital that Omar's version of events does not square with the record.

"She only sent a letter once the fraud was exposed. Prior to that, she sent letters urging the administration to keep the waivers in place, allowing the fraud to continue. Sounds like revisionist history. I don't buy it at all."

That distinction matters. If Omar pushed to extend the very program flexibilities that enabled the theft, before the scandal broke, and then claimed to have demanded accountability only after the fraud became public, the timeline raises obvious questions about her judgment and her candor.

Robbins wants more than statements. She has called for Congress to enforce a subpoena to obtain Omar's communication and meeting records with the Minnesota Department of Education and constituents. The committee had previously invited Omar to testify about what she knew. Omar never responded. A separate effort to subpoena information from her was blocked by Democrats on the committee.

USDA puts the blame on Minnesota

The federal government's own response undercut Omar's attempt to shift responsibility to Washington. A USDA spokesperson delivered a pointed statement to Fox News Digital that left little room for ambiguity about where the agency believes the failure occurred.

"The reality is simple: Minnesota officials had warnings, complaints, and evidence for months, what MN staff described as an 'open secret', yet failed to stop one of the largest COVID fraud schemes in history."

The spokesperson continued: "USDA's Office of Inspector General helped investigate and arrest dozens involved in the scheme. Regulations do not force states to ignore fraud, and do not absolve them from doing the right thing. Blaming federal rules after the fact does not erase Minnesota's failure to act while taxpayers were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed hungry children."

That language, "an open secret", is devastating. It suggests the fraud was not some hidden operation that caught everyone off guard. People inside Minnesota's own bureaucracy knew. And still, according to the USDA, state officials failed to act.

The scale of the scandal

The Feeding Our Future fraud cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Fox News Digital's reporting has described it as a $250 million scheme. The committee's broader findings pointed to billions in total taxpayer losses tied to the "culture of tolerance" under Walz's administration.

Dozens of individuals have been investigated and arrested by the USDA's Office of Inspector General. Aimee Bock, named by Omar in her own statement, is among those being held accountable. A convicted ringleader in the fraud scheme has claimed that Omar had knowledge of the operation, an allegation Omar flatly denies.

The committee report found that Omar's MEALS Act, which was implemented into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, created structural vulnerabilities. By allowing for-profit restaurants to serve meals and by permitting grab-and-go distribution, the legislation removed safeguards that might have made the fraud harder to pull off. Omar frames this as bipartisan policy. Critics frame it as the mechanism that opened the floodgates.

Fox News Digital also reported earlier this month that a former Omar staffer sent an email to the committee pointing to Trump's USDA during his first term and downplaying the potential negative impact of Omar's MEALS Act legislation, an effort that mirrors the congresswoman's own public defense.

Ethics probe and financial questions

Omar's troubles extend beyond the Feeding Our Future scandal. She faces a new investigation by the House Ethics Committee into her finances, according to Fox News Digital. The probe follows a revision to her financial disclosures that drastically cut her family's reported wealth from up to $30 million to less than $100,000, a gap so large it demands explanation.

Omar also publicly promoted a Minneapolis restaurant that later became linked to the fraud program, though the full details of that connection remain unclear. She was photographed speaking at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis as recently as January 2026, a sign she continues to maintain a visible public presence in the community at the center of the scandal.

The questions around Omar have drawn attention from the highest levels. Vice President JD Vance has publicly raised fraud allegations against the congresswoman, and the scrutiny has even extended to her broader network, including an accused Medicaid fraudster who donated to Omar's campaigns and is now a fugitive from Minnesota charges.

The pattern that matters

Omar's defense follows a familiar template. Deny knowledge. Claim swift action. Deflect to the other party. And refuse to cooperate with the investigators asking the hardest questions.

She says she demanded answers from the USDA. But Robbins says Omar first pushed to keep the waivers in place. She says she had no knowledge of the fraud. But she declined an invitation to testify before the state committee, and Democrats blocked the subpoena that might have produced her records.

The USDA, the state committee, and the committee chair all point in the same direction: Minnesota's own officials, not Washington regulators, let this happen. Omar's MEALS Act removed guardrails. Walz's administration created a permissive environment. And hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed hungry children ended up funding what the USDA called "lavish lifestyles and extravagant expenses."

Omar calls the allegations "flat-out false." Robbins calls her account "revisionist history." The USDA calls the fraud "an open secret." Somewhere in the gap between those descriptions lies a truth that Omar has so far declined to help investigators find.

When a public official refuses to testify, refuses to produce records, and then issues a statement blaming everyone else, the public is entitled to draw its own conclusions. Accountability isn't something you announce in a press release. It's something you demonstrate under oath.