Ilhan Omar’s progressive politics, personal life, and feuds with President Donald Trump have attracted the spotlight. One of the first two Muslim women in Congress, both elected in 2018, Omar had to apologize for incendiary comments about Israel and Jewish people, sparked a resolution in Congress about tolerance, faced death threats, was told by Trump to “go back” to where she came from, and even drew a statement of support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. After graduating from North Dakota State University in 2011, she worked as a nutrition educator at the University of Minnesota, the policy director for a nonprofit organization focused on engaging East African women in civic life, and a policy aide to a former Minneapolis City Council member.