Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar blasts Trump administration's push to cut federal programs

The Republicans have a trifecta with the presidency, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House under their control. All Democrats can do is voice their opposition. One of those voices is Rep. Ilhan Omar.

As a child, Omar spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp. The congresswoman has blasted the administration's push to cut USAID and halt U.S. Refugee Admissions programs.

Omar says she is especially concerned about 200 Afghan refugees who were stopped from boarding a U.S.-bound plane.

"These are folks whose lives were endangered, who are now considered traitors by the Taliban because they helped our troops when they were stationed in Afghanistan," Omar said.

Omar says she is also concerned about the National Institute of Health cuts to Minnesota medical research.

"The University of Minnesota might be impacted to the tune of $30 million," she said.

In 2019, President Trump tweeted that Omar and three other members of Congress, all women of color, should go back to where they came from. Omar's response: She and the other members are all United States citizens.

This year, a Republican member of Congress from Texas, Brandon Gill, is targeting Omar by circulating a petition to deport her to Somalia because she has said undocumented immigrants do not have to answer ICE questions.

"The congressman should know better. He knows or hopefully he is starting to learn what our Constitution says and the kinds of rights people have regardless of their status in this country," Omar said.