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By Sydney Kashiwagi

New York Times

Hello and welcome back to another DC Dish.  

PITCH TO READERS: I got a lot of really great feedback on my recent story where I asked the 10 Minnesotans in Congress about their thoughts on President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office.

I’ve decided that this could be a pretty neat story format to try amid what feels like non-stop news coming out of D.C. And I want to open up the floor to readers to know what you all would like me to ask the Minnesota delegation in Washington about Trump, the new administration and the news of the day. 

Email me at Sydney.Kashiwagi@startribune.com and I’ll try to do more of these types of stories from D.C. 

OMAR COMES UNDER FIRE: Rep. Ilhan Omar found herself in the crosshairs this week after a clip in which she referred to “these people” as idiots went viral without the full context.  

Omar was asked by progressive talk-show host Mehdi Hasan about freshman GOP Rep. Brandon Gill calling on the congresswoman to get deported back to Somalia. His calls were promoted after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared a misleading video of Omar giving advice to Somali immigrants on how to respond to ICE, which he said was illegal. 

THE MISSING CONTEXT: Hasan asked Omar about Gill's and Musk's recent attacks and how she deals with them.

TO WHICH OMAR REPONDED: "These people are just idiots. I'm at the point where it's become really hard to have an intellectual debate with any of these people, because the level of stupidity that they are displaying every single day is frankly embarrassing, not just in Congress, but as Americans. And the fact that these people are allowed to say just the most ridiculous thing tells you that the dumbing of the United States is alive because how else do we get a Trump presidency again?"

But many on the right shared the clip only of Omar speaking without the prompt of Hasan's question about Gill and Musk. 

WHAT THE RIGHT IS SAYING: GOP Rep. Nancy Mace accused Omar of calling Americans "dumb and hates free speech - she says it quite clearly in this clip," she said. 

Former Minnesota attorney general candidate Jim Schultz shared the shortened clip and said the "contempt" that Omar "so consistently demonstrates toward Americans and toward the country that took her in is a disgrace."

TEAM OMAR SHOOTS BACK: “The congresswoman was talking about Elon Musk and Brandon Gill targeting her with bigoted and xenophobic disinformation suggesting she was either committing crimes or that she should be deported for simply sharing information with her constituents about their constitutional rights," a spokesperson for Omar said. "Anyone that would fall for the disinformation campaign based on a manipulated video is falling for their lies.”

Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune

KEEPING TABS ON THE SENATE RACE: It's been nearly two weeks now since Sen. Tina Smith announced her retirement from her seat. So far, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has stepped up to launch an official bid on the Democratic side. And in the GOP field, ex-NBA player Royce White and retired Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze are running.

Though Republicans I've spoken with don't think Minnesota's GOP Reps. Michelle Fischbach and Brad Finstad will make a run, speaking briefly with Fischbach indicated to me that she may be leaving the door open.

"You know what? It's too early," Fischbach quickly said when I asked her if she was planning to run before she entered the House chamber for votes Monday evening. I still haven't heard from Finstad, and, for those of you just joining, GOP Reps. Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber have passed on running. 

ALL EYES ON ANGIE CRAIG: A number of Democrats are still waiting in the wings, but Rep. Angie Craig is one them who has indicated she may jump in. Craig told me Monday she's still listening to Minnesotans to know what's the best path forward. 

"The seat hasn't been open in nearly 20 years in Minnesota. So, I think it's important that I talk to Minnesotans, not only in my congressional district, but throughout Minnesota and significant stakeholders, to see what they're looking for in their next senator," Craig said. 

One Democrat told me that Craig may be waiting on Gov. Tim Walz, who also hasn't ruled out a bid, to decide before she does. If both of them ran, they would both be battling for the more moderate lane so it's unclear if both would run. "The governor and I have a terrific relationship. I respect him tremendously. And, of course, I will take what he decides into consideration before I make a decision," Craig said. 

Craig represents a swing district that Republicans would love to try to flip if she leaves. So if she enters the Senate race, the race to replace her will likely draw national attention and a lot of money from both sides. 

CRAIG SUCCESSORS? The congresswoman didn't want to get ahead of herself though and declined say who she thinks should run for her seat if she does run for Senate. "Right now, I'm running for re-election to my seat!" she said when I asked her. 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GROUPS SCRAMBLE: Jen Polzin has been crunching the numbers, and they don’t look good. The CEO of Tubman said the organization gets about a third of its annual funding − roughly $3 million − from the federal government. They’ve relied on those funds to reimburse them for work done across the state, including providing shelter for victims of domestic abuse, my colleague Briana Bierschbach reports. 

But the funding has been put on pause by the Trump administration, possibly violating a court order and sending victim advocate groups across the state scrambling for ways to fill the gaps.

“We’re all contingency planning as fast as we can,” said Polzin, who added that some programs will have to close their doors altogether if funding doesn’t resume. Read more. 

MNLEG BILL TRACKING GUIDE: The Minnesota Legislature is in full swing now that a stalemate in the House of Representatives is in the rear view. State legislators have already introduced more than 3,000 bills and are holding daily committee hearings to discuss proposals that could eventually become law. Wondering how to keep track of it all, or how to have a say in the process? My colleague Ryan Faircloth has compiled a guide here. Read more. 

At 9 a.m. Gov. Tim Walz will speak at a Minnesota Nurses Association event.

At 10:30 a.m., he'll interview candidates for a vacancy on the Minnesota Tax Court.

At 12:15 p.m., Walz will meet with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

At 12:45 p.m., Walz will meet with the Association of Minnesota Counties leadership.

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Minnesota rideshare drivers (think Uber and Lyft) join elected officials at a 10 a.m. news conference at the Capitol to push a bill to allow the drivers the right to form a union.