John,
Fraud, fraud, and more fraud. It’s been a busy week uncovering the depth and depravity of Minnesota’s fraud crisis and Governor Walz’s complete dereliction of duty. Here are the facts you need to know and how my team and I are working toward accountability.
Minnesotans have watched the headlines all week, and the truth is finally out. As Congressman Emmer aptly put it: Minnesota has become the land of 10,000 frauds—and the Walz administration tried to bury it. For years, my fellow Minnesota Republicans and I warned that this mess ran far deeper than Governor Walz would ever admit. Now the entire country can see exactly what we’ve been saying. We sent our first oversight letter back in September 2022, demanding accountability in Minnesota’s nutrition programs. I kept pushing through 2023 and 2024, and those efforts helped trigger the subpoena of Governor Walz himself. And this week, more than 400 DHS employees confirmed our worst fears: they raised alarms about widespread fraud, and the Walz administration tried to silence them instead of tackling the problem. Federal prosecutors have currently uncovered more than a billion dollars stolen from programs meant to feed hungry children, provide housing for the homeless, and support families with autistic kids. And it gets far worse. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now launched a federal investigation into whether stolen taxpayer dollars were funneled through Somali networks with ties to al-Shabaab. Consequently, I joined Minnesota’s entire Republican delegation in sending a letter to U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding a full federal inquiry into these Somali fraud rings. This is the level of danger created by Tim Walz’s failure to act. Thankfully—and with my full support—these investigations will continue, escalate, and deliver accountability all the way to the top.
I am also deeply concerned by the federal findings that one-third of Minnesota’s non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) were issued illegally. That is why I joined Rep. Pete Stauber on a letter to Governor Walz demanding immediate action to revoke these unlawfully issued licenses and fix the failures that allowed this to happen in the first place. Once again, the Walz administration has been caught bending the law and cutting corners while putting Minnesotans at risk. Commercial truck drivers must meet federal requirements, and Governor Walz had a clear responsibility to ensure that only those with verified legal status received CDLs. Instead, his agencies issued licenses to individuals who couldn’t prove lawful presence or whose legal status had already expired. Now Minnesota could lose millions in federal transportation funds because Governor Walz once again chose partisan politics over public safety. I will fight to protect Minnesota’s funding, but the responsibility for this mess lies squarely with Tim Walz’s administration.
