A conservative watchdog group is demanding that House Speaker Mike Johnson garnish Rep. Ilhan Omar’s $174,000 congressional salary to cover unpaid federal student loans the group says are in default.
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) fired off a letter Friday accusing Omar of “abuse of office” for allegedly falling behind on taxpayer-backed debt while championing broad student-loan forgiveness from her committee perch. AAF president Thomas Jones told Johnson that Omar’s own financial disclosures list between $15,001 and $50,000 in outstanding federal loans now handled by servicer Nelnet. “Someone earning nearly triple the median household income should not be shifting her tuition tab onto taxpayers,” Jones wrote.
The letter goes further, claiming—without providing documents—that Omar has “bullied” the Department of Education to back off collection. AAF says it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for any e-mails, calls or memos between the Minnesota Democrat’s office and federal loan officials.
Omar’s team did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday, leaving unanswered whether payments were missed, deferred, or simply listed as outstanding on annual disclosure forms that capture ranges, not balances.
House ethics rules already allow automatic wage garnishment for members who ignore court-ordered debt judgments, but AAF wants the Chief Administrative Officer to start withholding paychecks immediately—an extraordinary step that would require either Omar’s consent or a full House vote. Johnson’s office declined to say whether he will take up the request.
The congresswoman has been one of Capitol Hill’s loudest voices for wiping out federal student debt, arguing higher education should be tuition-free and that cancellation would narrow racial wealth gaps. Critics pounced on the watchdog’s claims as evidence of hypocrisy. “If you’re in default and sponsoring bills that could erase your own liability, that’s a textbook conflict,” Jones said in an interview.
Omar’s finances have drawn scrutiny before. In 2023 Quiver Quantitative noted her reported assets jumped from zero in 2019 to as much as $288,000, while carrying up to $100,000 in credit-card debt. Omar has attributed the swings to divorce proceedings, home refinancing and retirement-account contributions that were not required to be disclosed in earlier filings.
Ethics attorneys caution that simply owing student loans—even in default—is not a violation, and members routinely push policies that could affect their personal finances. “The line is whether she used official influence to gain preferential treatment,” said Meredith McGehee, a former ethics lawyer for the Senate. “So far AAF has offered speculation, not proof.”
The watchdog group, formed in 2020 to probe progressive lawmakers, says it will continue digging and release any FOIA results. For now, the dispute reignites the broader fight over student debt—only this time the balance sheet has a name and a face, and both sides are using it to score points in Washington’s endless tuition war.
