{"id":23035,"date":"2025-11-16T17:20:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=23035"},"modified":"2025-11-16T17:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:20:04","slug":"watchdog-says-omar-defaulted-on-student-loans-urges-house-to-garnish-salary-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=23035","title":{"rendered":"Watchdog Says Omar Defaulted On Student Loans, Urges House To Garnish Salary"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is facing new scrutiny over her personal finances after a watchdog group accused her of defaulting on federal student loans while advocating for debt forgiveness in Congress.<\/p>\n

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The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday alleging that Omar, who earns $174,000 a year, is in collection proceedings over federally guaranteed student loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are writing today to share serious concerns about abuse of office and abuse of government loans by a member of the House of Representatives, Representative Ilhan Omar,\u201d AAF President Thomas Jones wrote.<\/p>\n

According to the group, Omar\u2019s financial disclosure forms show she owes between $15,001 and $50,000 in outstanding student loan debt \u2014 loans backed by the federal government.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs you know, these loans are guaranteed by the United States Government and Representative Omar\u2019s default would shift the cost of her student loans onto the U.S. taxpayer,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThe fact that someone making $174,000 as a Member of Congress cannot pay their student loans is unconscionable and embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group went further, accusing Omar of using her position to pressure federal agencies not to enforce collection on her loans.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAdding insult to injury, there are credible claims that she is using her influence as a Member of Congress to bully the Department of Education into not collecting the past-due payments,\u201d Jones wrote.<\/p>\n

Jones said his organization filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain any correspondence between Omar and the Department of Education related to her loans.<\/p>\n

The letter urged Speaker Johnson to take an unprecedented step to ensure taxpayers are not left on the hook.<\/p>\n

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