Omar Dramatically Downplays Minnesota Fraud, Writes Off as Trump ‘PR’ Stunt [WATCH]

Ilhan Omar tried to call it fearmongering. Margaret Brennan didn’t let her off the hook.

CBS News’ Brennan pressed the Minnesota Democrat on Sunday over massive welfare fraud in the state, after Omar argued there was “no justification” for the federal response to the scandal.

Federal officials have estimated that suspected fraud tied to Minnesota’s Medicaid program has surged past $9 billion, with multiple agencies investigating and the Trump administration pausing payments pending audits. Omar also noted that many of the people charged so far are of Somali descent.

“It is just creating fear. What they are doing is creating confusion, chaos, trying to intimidate people from being able to exercise their regular normal activities that they would. There is no justification in any of the things that they say,” Omar told Brennan on Face the Nation.

“The 87 people that you’ve described as being investigated, many of them adjudicated, all happened under the Biden Administration,” Omar continued. “There is no justification for the search. We know that ICE has the ability to conduct raids. There is no reason to have over 2,000 people coming into our city and creating the level of terror that they have created.”

The Trump administration has argued the enforcement actions are tied to public safety and accountability — including arrests of illegal immigrants in the Minneapolis area who include sex offenders, drug offenders, and people convicted of assault, according to a DHS release.

Omar claims state and federal authorities had already worked “peacefully together” and brought justice to the cases, and she insists the new searches haven’t produced any additional criminal activity.

“None of the search that they have conducted has produced any sort of criminal activity. They haven’t been able to charge anyone as of yet,” she said.

Brennan then widened the lens — and sharpened the question.

“Well, the administration had also announced they’re going to cut food stamps to Minnesota because some of the money had been embezzled here,” Brennan replied.

“It is being litigated and it is unconstitutional for them to do so,” Omar said. “There is no reason for them to use this level of rhetoric. There is no reason for them to fully stop … funding these programs,” Omar said. “The only reason they are doing that is for PR purposes and it is harming our state, it is harming my constituents and it is creating the kind of chaos and confusion that no one needs in this moment.”

Watch the clip below: