A new report is drawing attention to funding tied to a Minneapolis clinic once led by the sister of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), along with broader questions about family connections and past statements.
According to reporting cited in the piece, Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, served as CEO of People’s Center Clinics & Services from 2014 to 2018. During that period, Omar was elected to the Minnesota House in 2017, and the state approved a $2.2 million capital budget allocation for the clinic.
The nonprofit, based in Minneapolis, has received roughly $33 million in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services since 2002. The report focuses on the overlap between Noor’s leadership and public funding decisions tied to the facility.
The clinic also participated in a contract pharmacy agreement connected to the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. That agreement involved Degdeg’s Carepoint Pharmacy, which was signed on in 2015 while Noor was leading the clinic. The pharmacy later lost its license in 2017 and is now listed as permanently closed.
Omar has publicly highlighted her role in supporting funding for the clinic. She appeared at an event in 2022 celebrating renovations that included expanded services such as a walk-in clinic, fitness center, prayer room, and multilingual call center. She also helped secure an additional $1 million in federal funding for the project after being elected to Congress.
At the time, Omar stated, “neither I nor my immediate family has any financial interest in this project.” The clinic later credited her with helping obtain federal support for its upgrades.
The report also examines Noor’s activities after leaving the clinic. She moved to Kenya and launched a healthcare consulting firm, Grit Partners, which she said worked on projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her husband, Mohamed Keynan, has held government roles in Minnesota and later served in positions tied to Somalia’s leadership, including work with a former prime minister and president.
Additional details in the report reference Noor’s involvement in a telehealth startup called Hello! Caafi, launched in 2020 with the goal of expanding healthcare access in Somalia. The company’s online presence has since gone inactive, with limited public updates after 2022, per Trending Politics.
The report also revisits longstanding allegations involving Omar’s past marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar has denied wrongdoing and testified in 2017 that she had not been in contact with him for years. However, the report cites claims from an investigative journalist who identified technical data allegedly linking Elmi to a website associated with Noor’s consulting work.
Those claims remain disputed, and no charges have been filed related to any of the allegations discussed in the report.
The situation reflects ongoing scrutiny surrounding public officials and the intersection of government funding, nonprofit organizations, and family relationships. Supporters argue the funding improved healthcare access in an underserved community, while critics continue to question whether the connections warrant further investigation.
During a rally on Friday, President Donald Trump said that Omar could soon be under federal investigation, stressing the need for the Minnesota Democrat to be removed from the U.S.
