A swirl of conservative outrage over an earmark tied to a Somali-led nonprofit in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Minnesota district has thrown a wrench into a three-bill funding package, stalling its march forward and forcing GOP leaders to navigate yet another intraparty tempest.
The flashpoint is a $1,031,000 community project funding request designated for Generation Hope’s “Justice Empowerment Initiative,” a program serving Minneapolis’ East African community with substance-use recovery support, mental health services, and job-readiness training. The earmark was originally championed not only by Omar but by Minnesota Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, adding a bipartisan veneer to the request nestled inside a sprawling “minibus” covering multiple federal agencies.
But the calm veneer has cracked. Conservative Republicans, citing a high-profile fraud scandal in Minnesota involving defendants of Somali descent, have seized on the earmark as emblematic of what they call reckless federal spending. The resulting uproar has prompted leaders to restructure floor consideration of the funding package. Instead of a single up-or-down vote, House lawmakers will now vote on each of the three titles separately, giving conservatives room to register their opposition without tanking the entire package outright.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a hardline conservative and member of the House Rules Committee, has been one of the loudest critics. In a burst of rhetorical fire, Roy blasted Omar’s request and others like it as wasteful and politically motivated. “We’ve got all sorts of programs in there going to climate justice and just nonsense that nobody I represent wants their money spent on,” he said. “It’s ridiculous to buy votes in the currency of corruption in this town.”
Behind the scenes, negotiations continue. Roy says GOP leadership committed to making “corrections” to at least one “egregious” earmark, though he did not explicitly confirm whether Omar’s request is on the chopping block.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole hinted strongly that at least one earmark will be removed to prevent the package from collapsing. Cole said he frequently warns members that controversial earmarks can jeopardize major legislation. “I just tell the member, ‘Look, this could bring the whole bill down. It needs to come out,’” he said, adding that both parties routinely vet and adjust earmarks before final passage.
For now, the minibus creeps forward, slowed not by its size but by the political storm swirling around a single line item.
