A group of Minnesota Republicans called on Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) to resign on Monday, marking intensifying criticism about how leading officials handled the widespread fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars reported across the state.
The lawmakers from the state House and Senate expressed concern that under Walz’s leadership, billions in state funds may have been mishandled and allowed to flow to fraudulent enterprises posing as daycares for low-income families, food assistance for needy children, and other publicly funded social welfare programs.
“We are talking about billions of dollars in fraud that should have gone to vulnerable Minnesotans,” state Sens. Bill Lieske and Nathan Wesenberg, and state Reps. Marj Fogelman, Drew Roach, and Mike Wiener wrote in a joint statement this week.
“The red flags were everywhere,” the lawmakers continued. “Yet, year after year, the fraud kept growing, and year after year, nothing changed. When a governor fails to do what he is required to do, when he watches a crisis spiral out of control and does nothing to stop it, that is nonfeasance. The governor had a duty to oversee his administration and protect these programs. He failed. There needs to be consequences.”
The federal government is conducting multiple investigations into massive money laundering operations in Minnesota, while congressional lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have demanded more details on how the state handled the matter.
Walz has defended himself from criticism that he failed to properly address suspected fraud schemes.
“He has strengthened oversight – including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” a spokesperson for Walz’s office told CBS News. “He has hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”
Many day care centers run through the state’s federally funded Child Care Assistance Program have been accused of being fronts for extensive fraud operations. In addition, Minnesota’s Department of Education has been faulted by a state audit, the FBI, and the Justice Department for allowing $250 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program grant funds to be allocated to a money laundering operation posing as the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future.
While Walz conceded last year that the audit provided a “fair critique,” he told the Minnesota Star Tribune that “there’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal.”
Walz has faced criticism from Judy Randall, the nonpartisan head of Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor, who has said that multiple state agencies under his administration have repeatedly downplayed and ignored looming oversight failures.
WALZ ADMINISTRATION ‘HOSTILE AND UNCOOPERATIVE’ IN RESPONSE TO CASCADE OF AUDITS
Last week, nearly 100 mayors across Minnesota urged the Walz administration and lawmakers to course-correct, expressing concern that mismanagement is barreling the state toward a fiscal cliff.
“Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities—reducing our capacity to plan responsibly, maintain infrastructure, hire and retain employees, and sustain core services without overburdening local taxpayers,” the mayors wrote in a letter. “Our state owes it to our citizens to practice responsible fiscal management and to stop taxing our families, seniors, and businesses out of Minnesota.”
