St. Paul, Minnesota - June 11, 2026

Minnesota House Committee Falls Short on Subpoena for Rep. Ilhan Omar in Feeding Our Future Fraud Investigation

A Minnesota House committee voted 5-3 in favor of issuing a subpoena to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) but fell one vote short of the six votes required under the chamber’s bipartisan operating agreement.

The subpoena would have compelled Omar to testify and provide documents related to her connections to the Feeding Our Future federal child nutrition fraud investigation, one of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the country.

Committee Chair Kristin Robbins argued the subpoena had become necessary after Omar declined multiple invitations to testify and failed to respond to document requests.

“We have reached out to Representative Ilhan Omar on multiple occasions, inviting her to testify and inviting and requesting documents,” Robbins said. “The only tool left for us as a committee if we want to get these documents is to issue a subpoena.”

Republicans on the panel have focused on Omar’s sponsorship of the federal MEALS Act in March 2020, which they argue loosened oversight requirements in federal nutrition programs and created conditions that enabled large-scale fraud.

“Representative Omar had some role, whether inadvertent or not,” Robbins said. “She passed the MEALS Act in March of 2020, and that took the guardrails off the federal school nutrition program which created the conditions for Feeding Our Future.”

Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals in the scandal, including nonprofit founder Aimee Bock and numerous associates tied to Minnesota’s Somali community. Republicans sought communications between Omar and individuals connected to the investigation, as well as records tied to her public promotion of Safari Restaurant, a Minneapolis business later linked to the scandal.

Democrats on the committee opposed the subpoena, accusing Republicans of politicizing the investigation and questioning the timing with only days remaining in the legislative session.

Dave Pinto, the committee’s lead Democrat, argued that even if information were received, the committee would not have time to act on it.

The failed vote blocks the Minnesota House committee from compelling Omar’s testimony before the session ends later this month. Robbins indicated Republicans are exploring other options, including asking members of Congress to issue a subpoena.