Republicans successfully stripped a $1 million earmark from a federal spending package after it was exposed as directing funds to Generation Hope MN, a Somali-led addiction recovery organization operating above a Minneapolis Somali restaurant, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has revealed.
Ernst's office had raised the alarm on what she has described as "an East African addiction center full of red flags for fraud" earlier this week, noting that the center shares an address on IRS filings with the restaurant Sagal Restaurant and Coffee.
The earmark had been slipped in by Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-5).
“What I uncovered the other day, in one of our spending bills making its way through Congress, was a $1 million earmark from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota," the Senator revealed in an interview with Fox Business.
“This earmark was supposedly going to a substance abuse clinic, which actually happened to be housed in a restaurant and run by three individuals who share the same residential address, according to their IRS paperwork. Tons of red flags."
🚨 BREAKING: Republicans just REMOVED a spending provision placed by Somali Rep. Ilhan Omar that would've sent $1 million to a fraudulent "clinic" in Minnesota
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 8, 2026
The $1M was for a "substance abuse clinic" that happens to be housed in a RESTAURANT run by 3 people with the same… pic.twitter.com/tGAPsfJLnT
New Revelations: Ilhan Omar's Husband Dumps Advisors As Questions Swirl
Ernst drew a link between this kind of activity and that enveloping the Somali community and their alleged daycare scams in the North Star State.
"Now we see other earmarks coming directly from members of Congress, where it seems fraud is being perpetrated as well," she claimed. "I raised the issue, and fortunately, the House has now stripped that earmark out of that spending bill. But again, this is how easy money has been flowing to bad actors in Minnesota.”
House Republicans removed the $1,031,000 earmark from the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) minibus spending package after conservative pushback threatened to derail it.
Ernst later posted to X that stripping the Omar earmark, co-led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) in the Senate, was a "squeal win."
"Taxpayer dollars should not be funding more fraud in Minnesota," she wrote.
I met with @SenJoniErnst today to learn more about her work to stop fraud & earmarks at the federal level.
— Minnesota House Fraud and Oversight Committee (@MN_Fraud_Cmte) January 9, 2026
We had a strong bipartisan commitment to stop earmarks in the MN House this year and will continue to change the culture to stop this practice. https://t.co/Aqtw61MC2f pic.twitter.com/lr2sVYNOo5
The restaurant owner defended the setup with the "addiction center" to Fox News, stating the building houses eight separate office spaces upstairs and insisting there's nothing untoward about the arrangement. Generation Hope MN, a 501(c)(3) founded in 2019, describes its mission as supporting the East African community with substance use recovery, mental health services, and job training.
Rep. Omar has come under increased scrutiny due to rampant Somali-linked fraud being reported in Minnesota. While not formally accused of any direct involvement in these fraudulent schemes, RedState Editor Bob Hoge revealed that Omar "has strong relationships with at least two scammers."
Photos also surfaced of Omar posing with Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, a Somali illegal immigrant with prior fraud convictions.
The Democrat lawmaker has raised eyebrows over her family’s skyrocketing wealth, reportedly going from nearly broke to worth up to $30 million in just one year.
With fraud running rampant in Minnesota, any suspicious activity warrants a second look.
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