The United States Department of Agriculture is cutting off all federal funding to the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.
In a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey on Friday, Rollins cited the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case that led to 78 people being charged as one of the main reasons for stopping the funding. Specifically, the letter noted how the scheme for the fake children’s meal charity that took advantage of COVID-era funds abused the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program, according to the letter.
“Enough is enough! The Trump administration has uncovered MASSIVE fraud in Minnesota and Minneapolis—billions siphoned off by fraudsters. And those in charge have ZERO plan to fix it,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote. “Today, [USDA] is SUSPENDING FEDERAL FINANCIAL AWARDS to Minnesota and Minneapolis, effective immediately, until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped.”
“No more handouts to thieves! Time to drain the Minnesota swamp and put American taxpayers first,” she added.
There has been a widespread effort by the Trump administration to crack down on fraud concerns in Minnesota, especially when it comes to Medicaid.
“The more we uncover, the more it becomes clear: it’s much worse than we were led to believe by state government officials,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in a video posted to X earlier this week.
“We will begin auditing Medicaid receipts and defer paying on claims based on fraud, waste, and abuse,” he continued.
The numerous fraud scandals, which have already resulted in 95 people being charged in cases ranging from Feeding Our Future to an autism fraud treatment scheme, prompted Gov. Tim Walz not to seek a third term as governor.
“I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors,” Walz stated in his announcement. “And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there.”
Besides the fraud scandals, Minnesota continues to be in the national spotlight following an ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis this week, with Fox News reporting that an extra one thousand Border Patrol agents will be headed into the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan area to supplement the 2,000 federal officers already there, with extra hands meant to allow Homeland Security Investigations officers to keep exploring fraud concerns.
On Friday night, the City of Minneapolis responded to The Daily Wire’s inquiry on the USDA’s letter, saying that the city is “communicating with State partners to understand the impacts of such a blanket cut to funding meant for residents most in need.”
“What’s abundantly clear is that Minneapolis is the latest target of the Trump administration — willing to harm Americans in service to its perceived political gain,” the statement added.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he plans to sue to the federal government, writing in an X post that “I will not allow you to take from Minnesotans in need. I’ll see you in court, [Secretary Rollins].”
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