'Who's that': Ilhan Omar shrugs off GOP bid to ban foreign-born lawmakers from Congress

'If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen', Nancy Mace stated
Rep Ilhan Omar said she does not expect the newly proposed naturalized citizenship restrictions to advance past initial committee referrals (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Rep Ilhan Omar said she does not expect the newly proposed naturalized citizenship restrictions to advance past initial committee referrals (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) remained completely unbothered when confronted with a newly introduced House Republican resolution aimed at barring all foreign-born citizens from serving in the United States Congress.

When pressed for her perspective on the aggressive legislative challenge, Omar issued a highly dismissive, four-word response to Fox News Digital: “Good luck to her.”

The friction erupted after Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a joint resolution proposing a sweeping constitutional amendment.

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks at a press conference after a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on January 16, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. Democrats attend the field hearing titled Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump's Deadly Assault on Minnesota, where local citizens and politicians speak about Immigration Operation
Data archives reveal the sweeping administrative footprint of the proposed amendment, which would invalidate active certificates of election for dozens of lawmakers (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

The measure seeks to institute a strict natural-born citizen standard for all members of Congress, federal judges, and Senate-confirmed executive officers, directly mirroring the eligibility restrictions currently placed on the president and vice president.

Mace explicitly utilized social media platform X to name Omar, Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich) as her primary targets, directly questioning their patriotism.

"All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth," Mace posted. "All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America."



Steep constitutional hurdles stall resolution passage

The legislative broadside has instantly converted long-standing immigration debates into a direct identity clash on Capitol Hill.

There are currently 26 individuals serving as members of Congress who are not natural-born citizens, a bipartisan cohort comprising 19 Democrats and seven Republicans.

Omar emphasized she is entirely unconcerned about the measure gaining the political traction required to advance through the legislature.

(Getty Images)
Legislative flowcharts outline the rigorous national ratification framework required to alter baseline qualification requirements for federal candidates (Getty Images)

Amending the United States Constitution remains an extraordinarily difficult procedural feat. The resolution requires an initial two-thirds supermajority approval in both the House and the Senate, followed by additional ratification from three-fourths of all individual US states.

The proposal has yet to secure any widespread public backing from top House GOP leadership, nor has it attracted a significant bloc of Republican co-sponsors to establish momentum.

Republicans renew debate over dual loyalty in government

"If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen," Mace countered in an official statement, insisting that foreign-born officials undermine the sovereign integrity of domestic lawmaking.



The escalating rhetoric has also drawn renewed attention to the 'Disqualifying Dual Loyalty Act', separate legislation introduced by Representative Randy Fine (R-Fla).

Fine’s bill would ban any individual holding dual citizenship from legislative service, forcing candidates to formally renounce foreign nationalities to preserve congressional eligibility.

When asked about Fine’s stalled mandate, Omar again brushed off the initiative, asking, “Who’s that?” Fine defended the measure as a common-sense safeguard to guarantee that lawmakers are fully committed to America, rather than being divided between two nations.

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