Ilhan Omar slams Nancy Mace’s attack on her for Kirk remarks. ‘You belong in rehab’

The dayslong clash between Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Nancy Mace has intensified, with both sides trading sharp words. Mace, a South Carolina Republican, called for Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, to be deported to Somalia, while her rival snapped back, “You belong in rehab.”

The congressional feud began on Sept. 15, when Mace filed a resolution to censure Omar and strip her of her committee assignments for her comments about Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was shot and killed in Utah on Sept. 10.

The resolution — which requires a simple majority to pass in the House — states that Omar made “reprehensible” remarks about Kirk.

Specifically, it stated she “smeared Charlie Kirk and implied he was to blame for his own murder” during an interview with Zeteo, Mehdi Hasan’s media company. It also stated that Omar reposted a number of messages on X , formerly known as Twitter, that disparaged the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA.

In the interview, Omar criticized Kirk’s rhetoric related to guns and Black Americans, but she also described his killing as “mortifying” and expressed empathy for his family.

On Sept. 16, Omar denounced the resolution as a meritless ploy to raise money.

“Fun fact: Nancy Mace is trying to censure me over comments I never said,” Omar wrote on X. “Her (resolution) does not contain a single quote from me because she couldn’t find any. Unlike her, I have routinely condemned political violence, no matter the political ideology.”

“This is all an attempt to push a false story so she can fundraise and boost her run for Governor,” she added.

Mace, who has been in Congress since 2021, launched a bid for South Carolina governor in August.

The next day, on Sept. 17, Mace highlighted a 2022 X post from Omar, which said the First Amendment does not protect people “from being shamed or shunned.”

“If you celebrate murder, maybe Somalia can take you back,” Mace wrote in the post.

Minutes later, Omar shot back, “I know you aren’t well or smart but I hope someone can explain to you that there isn’t a correlation between my committee assignments and deportation.”

To this, Mace replied, “We would love to see you deported back to Somalia next.” Omar, who was born in Somalia, fled the country amidst civil war when she was 8. She immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s, according to her congressional biography.

Omar responded, “Would love to see you get the help you need next. You belong in rehab, not Congress.”

Mace said she will lead the debate on Omar’s censure on the evening of Sept. 17.

Mace’s push to formally reprimand Omar comes as top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have denounced negative reactions to Kirk’s killing.

On Sept. 15, Attorney General Pam Bondi said “there’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech — and there’s no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society.”

This remark earned pushback, including from some conservatives.

“‘Hate speech’ is a term used by those in power to describe thoughts they don’t want spoken,” Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, wrote on X. “It’s antithetical to the First Amendment.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Ilhan Omar slams Nancy Mace’s attack on her for Kirk remarks. ‘You belong in rehab’."