THE NEW ABNORMAL

Ilhan Omar Breaks Down Congress’ ‘High School’ Cliques

In this episode, Rep. Ilhan Omar breaks down the toxic “high school” cliques in Congress, defends progressives, and explains why she’s so disappointed in President Joe Biden.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) does not mince words when New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast asks her what it’s like to work in Congress right now.

“I think it’s probably one of the most toxic environments I’ve ever been in,” she says on Tuesday’s episode. Not only that but “it’s just like high school, it’s very clique-driven.”

Omar then paints a picture for Molly reminiscent of the clip from the movie Mean Girls when new 11th-grade student Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan) explains the cliques of her classmates in the lunchroom, table-by-table.

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“Everybody sort of talks to their core group and those who want to screw people hang around together. Those who want to help the American people are huddled in their own quarters,” she says. “Those who, you know, don’t think the Constitution can evolve are in, I don’t know, they’re hanging out on the roof or something. They’re like the real crazies who don’t recognize that it actually took an amendment to the Constitution for them to serve Congress. And then there’s like the rest of us.”

Omar’s “burn book” does not end there. She also spoke to the way that progressives are blamed for the Democratic Party not getting things done.

“We are, I would say, the adults in the room. We’re the ones who are at the table trying to negotiate. And you know, we’re oftentimes willing to give a little,” she adds. “The obstructionists have been conservative Democrats.”

Plus, she details the pushback people gave her when she refused to vote for the Build Back Better act—“I was called naive”—and her disappointment in Biden and student loan forgiveness.

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“It’s shocking that there’s all of this work that we have to do with this administration just to make them keep their promises,” she says.

Then! Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Adviser for the Biden Administration, joins the show to explain why this job recovery bounce-back is different, and better, than the recovery was in 2008 and the signs of life that the administration is seeing in the global supply chains.

“We’re trying to do everything we can,” he says.

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