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On Politics

Wed Jan 28 2026

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Hello, readers. Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On Politics. I'm Kathryn Palmer, and here's what to keep an eye on today in the ever-evolving world of politics.

After Ilhan Omar attacked, Trump suggests she staged it

A man rushed Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis last night and sprayed her with an unknown substance from a syringe. The man attacked the congresswoman as she called for ICE to be abolished and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached. He was arrested shortly thereafter. In a phone interview later that evening with ABC News, Trump suggested that Omar, a Somali-American and regular target of the president, faked the encounter. "I don't think about her. I think she's a fraud," Trump told the outlet. "She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her." When asked if he'd seen the video, the president said he hadn't.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a town hall meeting at the Urban League Twin Cities facility on January 27, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A person holding a syringe charged the podium as Omar spoke.

Brandon Bell, Getty Images

A politics roundup:

•	"No Kings" protest organizers are training thousands on how to monitor and record immigration arrests
•	Ohio officials are preparing for a possible ICE surge in Springfield, Gov. Mike DeWine said
•	Trump's sale of Venezuelan oil is sparking corruption concerns among lawmakers and industry insiders
•	A GOP candidate ripped into Republicans while ending his bid for Minnesota governor over ICE raids

Gallery: First lady Melania Trump rings NYSE bell, promotes new documentary

Two agents fired guns in Pretti shooting, DHS report says

Two border officers fired their guns during the fatal encounter that killed Alex Pretti in Minnesota, according to a copy of the internal Customs and Border Protection investigation obtained by USA TODAY. The probe notes that the agents began firing after an officer yelled "he's got a gun" multiple times. The report does not say whether the bullets fired by both agency members hit Pretti. One of the officers was a Border Patrol agent and the other was a Customs and Border Protection officer, the report said. The preliminary findings were based on body-worn camera footage and agency documentation.

Trump threatens Iran with 'massive armada'

The president unleashed new threats toward Iran today, warning in a social media post that it will face an "armada" of U.S. warships if it doesn't make a deal on nuclear weapons. Trump's comments come less than a week after he issued a similar threat to use military ships against the Middle Eastern nation, when he urged the Iranian government to tamp down on violence against protestors. He warned a U.S. aircraft carrier used in the Jan. 2 Venezuela strikes and captures was headed toward Iran and was prepared to fulfill its mission "with speed and violence, if necessary." Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Tehran during his first term in 2018, calling the Obama administration-led deal "horrible" and "one-sided," and launched a series of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.

Thanks for reading! Scroll down for more politics stories. You can reach me her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @ KathrynPlmr.