Before making headlines for bankrolling fake daycare centers, Minnesota gave food stamps to a millionaire.  
Rob Undersander, a retired engineer, told The Daily Wire he was volunteering as a counselor to help elderly Minnesotans register for government benefits in 2016 when he found a major loophole in the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 
Undersander, a millionaire, discovered he could receive SNAP benefits. 
“They handed out applications to show us how to fill them out for other seniors, and so I filled it out for myself, took it to the Stearns County courthouse, stood in line for a few minutes, and a few days later, I did a phone call with several questions, and three weeks later, I&#8217;m getting $278 in food stamp benefits,” he told The Daily Wire. “Being a conservative, I just felt that was really wrong.”
Undersander, who said he donated an equivalent amount of money to charities he got through SNAP benefits, has since testified at multiple state hearings hoping to raise awareness about the lax guardrails on welfare in Minnesota. Those efforts have so far fallen short, as state Democrat lawmakers remain firmly opposed to reforms suggested by Republicans. 
The reason Undersander was able to qualify for SNAP benefits was because Minnesota, like 43 other states, usually does not perform asset checks on welfare applicants. This policy, called broad-based categorical eligibility, means that millionaires or people with luxury cars can qualify for SNAP.
Thanks to an Obama-era change to welfare administration, “anyone receiving small, even noncash ‘benefits’ from other welfare programs&#8221; are automatically eligible for SNAP, according to a report from the America First Policy Institute. That even includes people who receive welfare brochures or call hotlines to be referred for other welfare benefits.
At the same time as eligibility expanded, state payment error rates for SNAP have increased. In December 2025, America First Policy Institute <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/time-to-end-the-broad-based-categorical-eligibility-loophole-in-snap">reported</a> that one in eight Americans is now on SNAP, and costs for the taxpayer-funded program have increased from $60 billion to $100 billion annually.
The game changed in July 2025 with the passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill. Under the legislation, states whose error payment rates exceed 6% by 2028 will be on the hook for 5%-15% of SNAP benefit costs. The federal government currently pays for all SNAP benefit costs. States across the board will also be required to pay for 75% of administrative costs of the program beginning in October 2026, up from the 50% currently required. 
With the pressure increasing for states to cut down on their payment error rates, the America First Policy Institute is working with lawmakers to propose reforms to shut down the broad-based categorical eligibility loophole. 
“States are responsible for administering SNAP, and over time, key guardrails around eligibility, verification, and oversight have weakened in several jurisdictions,” Matthew Schmid, the Farmers First campaign director for the America First Policy Institute, told The Daily Wire.  
“Recent federal reforms establish clearer standards and introduce meaningful accountability for how states manage the program, including stronger incentives to reduce improper payments and enforce eligibility requirements,” he added. 
One of the states where proposals have been put forward is Minnesota, where Republican Rep. Pam Altendorf introduced the “Stop Welfare for the Wealthy” act earlier this year. The <a href="https://mnhouserepublicans.com/rep-altendorf-to-file-much-needed-legislation-restoring-snap-integrity/">proposal</a> would close the broad-based categorical eligibility loophole, but has not made progress in the Democrat-controlled state legislature. 
Altendorf praised America First Policy Institute for aiding her SNAP reform efforts. She told The Daily Wire she started looking into Minnesota’s SNAP program after she noticed her state’s issuance of the benefit increased dramatically between 2020 and 2021. Since then, she has put forth reforms for the SNAP program and worries that her state could lose significant federal funding if they do not reduce its payment error rate, which is nearly 9%.
“Minnesotans are generous,” she said. “We want to help people who need it. But I think if you&#8217;re a millionaire and you&#8217;re qualifying for SNAP, that&#8217;s probably an abuse of the system.”
She <a href="https://www.fox9.com/news/anoka-county-couple-charged-800k-public-benefits-fraud-probe">cited</a> a recent case where a couple was charged with fraudulently taking hundreds of thousands in benefits, including from SNAP, while they spent thousands on luxury shopping and international travel. Prosecutors say the pair recieved other $800,000 in Medical Assistance and SNAP funds while spending over $54,375 at a jewelry store and $7,000 on travel. Prosecutors say the couple and their four children collectively owned 17 cars. 
While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has claimed to have taken sufficient steps to combat and prevent fraud, Republicans have said he has not done enough. 
“The guardrails completely came off under the Governor Walz administration,&#8221; Altendorf said. &#8220;So that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re seeing, is people are abusing the welfare system.&#8221;
Another state where Republican lawmakers have attempted to close down broad SNAP eligibility is New Mexico, which has a 14% payment error rate, one of the worst in the country. 
Senator Crystal Brantley, a Republican who represents a rural part of the state, has pushed to close down broad-based categorical eligibility. She said she represents some of the poorest New Mexicans and wants SNAP benefits to go only to those in need. 
One <a href="https://www.krqe.com/news/investigations/food-money-for-drugs-snap-traded-for-fentanyl/">recent case</a> in her district involved fentanyl being traded for SNAP benefit cards, according to law enforcement. Investigators said a drug dealer traded 50 fentanyl pills for a SNAP benefit card. The price for drugs is typically higher when SNAP benefit cards are used as currency, Sierra County Sheriff Joshua Baker told one local outlet. 
“We find that to be a common trend, because the inconvenience of having to go and utilize the EBT card, they charge double, sometimes even triple what the going street rate would be in cash,” he said. 
Brantley said that the case motivated her to introduce legislation to close down loopholes, but her bill has so far received no committee hearings. 
“I would encourage state lawmakers to join me in an effort to address those overpayments, to reduce that error rate, so that the federal government will continue to work with us, to make sure that our most vulnerable population is eligible for the program, but we refuse to fund those who do not qualify,” she told The Daily Wire. 
She said that if New Mexico continues to mishandle SNAP dollars, it deserves to lose federal funding. 
“We could lose federal funding, and I have to say as a New Mexican, and rightfully so, because we refuse to address the overpayments,” Brantley told The Daily Wire. “We have information that has been brought forward, explaining that there are large overpayments of this program, and we are not even taking a single step to address that.”
She added that the only way she saw New Mexico officials cracking down on SNAP waste was a “real threat” from the federal government to “seriously” cut funding to the state, which is largely dependent on federal dollars. 
“It&#8217;s very clear that, as a state, there is not an appetite to make changes and to be better stewards of those dollars,” she said. “It&#8217;s gonna have to come as a threat from the federal government to be very serious and actually start clawing back money.”
In contrast, Indiana Republicans have moved to close the broad-based categorical eligibility. Governor Mike Braun signed <a href="https://legiscan.com/IN/text/SB0001/id/3375751/Indiana-2026-SB0001-Enrolled.pdf">legislation</a> earlier this year that ended Indiana’s participation in expanded eligibility for SNAP, restricted benefits to American citizens or those in the United States legally, and stipulated that SNAP could not be used to purchase candy or soda. 
Braun, a member of the America First Policy Institute Governors’ Council, credited the organization for helping with the legislation. 
“AFPI is building an invaluable infrastructure to support state policymakers that connects the states to federal issues where cooperation is needed, like SNAP reform,” Braun told The Daily Wire. 
In Georgia, a bill cracking down on SNAP waste is making its way through the Republican-controlled state legislature. The proposal, from Rep. Martin Momtahan, would close the broad-based eligibility loophole and add increased verification for benefits. The proposal has already passed the House, but still needs to make it through the Senate. 
Georgia currently has a payment error rate of over 15% and could lose federal funding if the rate is not reduced. 
Momtahan <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/03/11/proposal-would-require-citizenship-checks-for-georgia-families-to-access-food-aid/">has said</a> the bill “ensures that SNAP benefits are going to families who truly qualify, while protecting Georgia’s taxpayers from federal penalties.”
While states work to clean up administration of the SNAP program, the Trump administration has pushed forward on its reforms and says it has removed over 4 million recipients who were not eligible to receive benefits. The Trump administration has also worked with states to ban the use of SNAP funds for junk food.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who co-founded the America First Policy Institute in 2021, <a href="https://x.com/SecRollins/status/2049131612835586505">recently said</a> in an interview that in one state, there were 14,000 individuals receiving SNAP benefits driving luxury vehicles.
Researchers with the institute told The Daily Wire they expect to continue working with state lawmakers across the country to reduce SNAP waste. 
“We are activating our state chapters and working directly with governors, legislators, and local partners to advance policies that strengthen oversight and close gaps in SNAP,” Ashley Hayek, the organization’s executive vice president, told The Daily Wire. “It is a hands-on approach that takes the Administration’s momentum and turns it into policy changes where the program is run.”

SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is shown using the text. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families

No More Food Stamps For Millionaires: The Fight Over SNAP Fraud Heads To The States

Fraud

Minnesota

SNAP

For decades, Americans have viewed their primary adversaries as foreign nationals or international terrorist organizations. Yet this perspective has proven dangerously naive. Over the past 60 years, socialist and Marxist ideologies have taken root within our own borders, often hiding in plain sight. This internal threat operates not from distant shores but from within.
Recent events only underscore this concern. The arrest of a would-be assassin at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — reportedly a former “Teacher of the Year” — is deeply disturbing. It raises a critical question: how have individuals entrusted with educating our children become radicalized to such extremes? And more importantly — where is the line when freedom of speech ends and subversion begins?
<h3>Quietly Reshaping Society From the Inside Out</h3>
This enemy is not a shadowy cabal of spies but a network of socialist and Marxist-influenced elites who have methodically gained influence over key pillars of American life: universities, the legal system, media, political parties, and even religious organizations. Operating under the banners of progress, equity, and social justice, they have advanced while many citizens focused on daily responsibilities. The outcome has been a slow erosion of foundational American values and a deliberate division of people along lines of ethnicity, religion, and sexual identity and even splits amongst once close family members. The result is the gradual weakening of the nation’s core institutions and social fabric.
<h3>The Decimation of the Nuclear Family</h3>
One of the most striking impacts appears in the decline of the nuclear family. This trend began prominently in the black community. In the 1960s, roughly 80% of black children lived in two-parent homes. Today, that figure is reversed with 77% of black children born to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/693212/77-black-births-to-single-moms-49-for-hispanic-immigrants/">single mothers</a>. The problem has since spread nationwide. Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/">data</a> show the United States has the highest rate of children living in single-parent households among developed nations — 23% of U.S. children under 18 live in fatherless homes, more than three times the global average.
Marriage rates have also hit historic lows, undermining the stable family structures historically linked to prosperity, child well-being, and social mobility. A prosperous country cannot long thrive without strong families as its foundation.
<h3>Academic Excellence Subverted into a Marxist Trojan Horse</h3>
Nowhere is the transformation more evident than in education. In public schools, social justice curricula emphasizing systemic racism, gender ideology, and equity have often displaced core academics. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores — the Nation’s Report Card — reveal reading and math proficiency at historic lows, with declines affecting students across demographic groups. Resources flow into DEI initiatives and “restorative justice” programs that prioritize emotional outcomes over measurable skills.
The human cost is profound: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/most-us-would-fail-u-s-citizenship-test-survey-finds-n918961">surveys indicate</a> only about 19% of Americans under age 45 can pass the U.S. Citizenship Test, with many unable to name the three branches of government or explain the Bill of Rights. Older Americans pass at much higher rates (around 74% in some studies), underscoring that this reflects educational shifts rather than inherent generational differences. 
Teachers’ unions have sometimes embraced ideological language. During the 2022 Minneapolis strike, a union leader framed the effort as a fight against “the patriarchy” and “capitalism.”
Universities, once centers of free inquiry, now exhibit stark ideological imbalance. Faculty ratios have shifted dramatically, with liberal-to-conservative balances moving from roughly 2:1 in the mid-1990s to far wider margins today — often 10:1 or higher in many studies, with even greater disparities in humanities and education departments. In the national survey, Departments of Education faculty self-identify as Radical, Activist, Socialist or Marxist. This is especially concerning because they instruct the next generation of public-school teachers.
<h3>Propaganda Masquerading as Journalism and Advocacy</h3>
This academic capture influences media, law, and advocacy. Organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) have faced scrutiny, including allegations in legal contexts of questionable practices while labeling mainstream groups. Media outlets often amplify such frameworks, shaping narratives through selective coverage. In politics, socialist ideas have moved from the fringes to mainstream Democratic platforms.
In November 2025, New York City elected Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, as mayor — the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of America’s largest city. His administration prioritizes expansive government and redistribution. Similar dynamics appear in Minnesota: Minneapolis City Council includes self-declared Democratic Socialists of America members advancing related priorities amid ongoing challenges with crime and services. The 2020 unrest in Minneapolis, involving organized elements, accelerated “defund the police” experiments rooted in these ideologies.
<h3>Undermining Service to Citizens</h3>
Elected officials advancing such agendas can weaken state capacity and national cohesion. When civic education falters, informed citizenship declines — an outcome aligned with views that see the Constitution as an outdated instrument of oppression.
Religious institutions have also been affected. Some mainline Protestant and Catholic circles have incorporated critiques of “systemic sin,” shifting emphasis toward social justice over personal redemption. Sermons increasingly echo academic and media talking points on privilege and reparations.
<h3>Pattern Recognition and the Path Forward</h3>
This is not paranoia but observable pattern recognition. Socialist and Marxist influences advanced not through overt revolution but via tenure committees, HR departments, grants, and activist networks. They reframed compassion-based concepts like diversity, inclusion, and equity into tools against dissent.
Evidence surrounds us: politicized campuses stifling debate, advocacy groups facing credibility questions, socialist elected officials, schools prioritizing socialist ideology, unions opposing capitalism, coordinated protests and riots, and churches emphasizing liberal politics.
Americans must awaken to this reality. The adversary lectures from podiums, edits content, drafts laws, grades papers, and serves on councils — seldom wearing foreign uniforms. Reclaiming institutions require vigilance: restoring academic excellence and viewpoint diversity in universities, demanding transparency from nonprofits and unions, electing leaders focused on merit and results, and ensuring schools prioritize fundamentals — reading, writing, history, and civics — over grievance.
The republic was not lost overnight but inch by inch. The time to push back is now. Our children’s future and the nation’s character depend on it.
* * *
Kendall Qualls is an Army veteran, business leader, and the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. TakeCharge is a national nonprofit organization led by Kendall and Sheila Qualls focused on restoring strong families as the foundation for opportunity, dignity, and upward mobility.

Former President Obama Joins NYC Mayor Mamdani On A Visit To Child Care Center

The Quiet Campaign Weaponizing America’s Youth

DW Opinion

Education

Family Values

Gen Z

Leftists

Legacy Media

Propaganda

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Vice President JD Vance compared Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz to an &#8220;arsonist trying to claim credit for the work of the fire department&#8221; after Walz praised his administration&#8217;s role in a series of anti-fraud raids on daycares around Minneapolis earlier this week.
Vance told Fox News host Will Cain on Wednesday that the Trump administration &#8220;really did not get much help at all from the Governor&#8217;s office&#8221; despite Walz&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/GovTimWalz/status/2049153096358481927">claims</a> that state agencies helped initiate the investigation.
Walz said Tuesday that raids at nearly two dozen daycares and learning centers were conducted &#8220;by state and federal law enforcement &#8230; because our state agencies caught irregular behavior and reported it.&#8221;
Vance <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2049540492795240765">pushed back</a> sharply.
&#8220;This is like the arsonist trying to claim credit for the work of the fire department because Tim Walz let this fraud happen under his watch, whether he was complicit in it directly himself or just turned a blind eye towards it.&#8221;
&#8220;Where we did actually get some help was from some state and local law enforcement officers who we assigned to the federal task force because the state government wasn&#8217;t doing anything,&#8221; Vance added. &#8220;All credit goes to people on the ground: the state officers, the federal officers who are working to uncover this fraud.&#8221;
Vance, who was tapped by President Donald Trump in February to lead the administration&#8217;s crackdown on state-level fraud, <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2049586471967830054">said</a> that the White House&#8217;s anti-fraud task force has moved quickly to investigate suspected abuses, especially in Minnesota.
The probe gained national attention after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted videos in December raising questions about fraud tied to several Somali-run daycare and learning centers in the Twin Cities area.
&#8220;These investigations take a long time, so I was asking myself, &#8216;How quickly can we start getting into some real investigatory work, court-issued warrants, actually going door-to-door and finding out what&#8217;s going on?&#8217; People told me it would take at least six months,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve gone from Nick Shirley&#8217;s video about the Minneapolis fraud schemes to &#8230; judges issuing warrants for this investigation in a matter of three months.&#8221;
Vance added that the federal government&#8217;s anti-fraud task force includes 280 law enforcement officers looking into the issue.
&#8220;We really have the most accelerated, aggressive anti-fraud operation that we&#8217;ve ever seen from the federal government,&#8221; the vice president said, adding, &#8220;This is far from done, but we&#8217;re making a lot of good progress.&#8221;
Federal agents with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants Tuesday at 22 sites, primarily daycare and learning centers, many of which are Somali-owned. No arrests were made during the raids, though dozens of individuals have been charged with fraud in recent months as federal prosecutors uncovered a massive fraud scheme targeting numerous Minnesota state programs.
&#8220;The President&#8217;s War on Fraud is working, as the task force and the entire Trump administration continue to work tirelessly to expose Fraudsters who have scammed the American people out of billions of dollars,&#8221; a Vance spokesperson told The Daily Wire on background.
Walz, who ended his bid for a third term as governor in January amid scrutiny over the scandal, has defended his administration&#8217;s response, arguing that state officials properly flagged fraudulent activity.
In his final State of the State address on Tuesday night, Walz claimed that he has done more than Republican-led states to crack down on fraud.
&#8220;We’ve created additional checks and balances. We have brought on more investigators, more auditors, and more law enforcement agencies, as well as an outside firm to take a look at high-risk programs,&#8221; he said. &#8220;People who have ripped us off are getting caught, and they are going to jail.&#8221;
&nbsp;

JD Vance/Tim Walz

Vance Rips Tim Walz For Taking Credit For Anti-Fraud Raids

JD Vance

Tim Walz

Trump Administration

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz boasted about his moves to crack down on fraud during his final State of the State address on Tuesday night, just hours after federal agents raided numerous daycares in the Minneapolis area as part of an investigation into government fraud that has plagued Minnesota for years.
In his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/sHPaQk2GD6U?si=FpadFG6TkHzIIdoq&amp;t=2295">remarks</a> before state legislators, Walz highlighted steps he&#8217;s taken to address the rampant fraud in recent months as his second term as governor nears its end. The Democratic governor has come under pressure from the Trump administration after federal prosecutors uncovered a massive fraud scheme that has seen tens of millions of taxpayer dollars stolen from state government programs.
&#8220;In February, I introduced a comprehensive anti-fraud package and began to implement a nine-part fraud prevention roadmap developed by Director of Program Integrity Tim O’Malley,&#8221; Walz said. &#8220;We’ve created additional checks and balances. We have brought on more investigators, more auditors, and more law enforcement agencies, as well as an outside firm to take a look at high-risk programs. People who have ripped us off are getting caught, and they are going to jail just like today.&#8221;
Walz then claimed that more fraud is taking place in Republican-led states.
&#8220;I’ve said the buck stops with me. And I know some of you will take that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you the statistics show it&#8217;s happening in red states more than here,&#8221; Walz said. &#8220;But, so be it. But taking responsibility doesn’t just mean taking the blame. It means taking it upon yourself to fix the problem.&#8221;
The governor&#8217;s remarks came around 12 hours after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-wave-hits-as-feds-raid-more-minnesota-daycare-sites-in-growing-fraud-scandal?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Up+Next&amp;rowType=Up+Next+Carousel&amp;title=New+Wave+Hits+As+Feds+Raid+More+Minnesota+Daycare+Sites+In+Growing+Fraud+Scandal">raided</a> 22 daycares and learning centers in the Minneapolis area as part of President Donald Trump&#8217;s anti-fraud crackdown. Earlier on Tuesday, Walz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tim-walz-takes-credit-for-fbi-raids-on-minnesota-daycares?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tim+Walz+Takes+Credit+For+FBI+Raids+On+Minnesota+Daycares">took credit</a> for helping orchestrate the raids and was blasted by FBI Director Kash Patel.
“Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today,” Patel fired back. “But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”
Tuesday&#8217;s raids focused on many Somali-owned daycares and learning centers around Minneapolis. Under Walz&#8217;s watch, dozens of Somalis defrauded numerous Minnesota social programs for years before they were caught. The fraud scandal included the federally funded Feeding Our Future nonprofit, which claimed to hand out meals to children during the COVID pandemic, but greatly exaggerated its work.
Walz, along with Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, has been accused of attempting to cover up the state&#8217;s fraud problem and silence government employees who raised concerns. Walz and Ellison have denied those accusations and claim that the state government has been properly investigating and prosecuting fraud.
In January, Walz announced that he would not seek a third term for governor so he could focus on addressing the state&#8217;s fraud problem. In his State of the State address, Walz called on the Minnesota state legislature to pass legislation to strengthen government oversight.
&#8220;My ask for you tonight is simple,&#8221; Walz told state lawmakers. &#8220;If you&#8217;re taking fraud seriously, take your responsibility to help me stop it seriously. If you talk about oversight, vote for that oversight in the bills that are working their way through the chamber.&#8221;
Four months ago, Walz accused President Donald Trump of &#8220;politicizing the issue&#8221; of fraud as Trump deployed federal agents and immigration officers to the Minneapolis area.

Tim Walz/Quality ‘Learing’ Center

Tim Walz, Awash In Fraud Investigations, Crowns Himself Anti-Fraud Champ In Final State Address

Department of Homeland Security

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), who accused the Trump administration of exploiting his state&#8217;s fraud issue for political purposes, is now taking credit for law enforcement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-wave-hits-as-feds-raid-more-minnesota-daycare-sites-in-growing-fraud-scandal?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=New+Wave+Hits+As+Feds+Raid+More+Minnesota+Daycare+Sites+In+Growing+Fraud+Scandal">raids</a> on more than 20 businesses in the Minneapolis area related to the federal government&#8217;s anti-fraud crackdown.
Walz <a href="https://x.com/GovTimWalz/status/2049153093841924376">addressed</a> the raids in a social media post on Tuesday, claiming that his administration is putting fraudsters &#8220;behind bars.&#8221; The governor added that the court-approved search warrants were executed early Tuesday morning as part of a joint federal-state operation.
&#8220;If you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught — and that’s exactly what we saw today. We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,&#8221; Walz wrote. &#8220;Today’s raids by state and federal law enforcement happened because our state agencies caught irregular behavior and reported it.&#8221;
FBI Director Kash Patel <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2049188920663916616?s=20">responded</a> to Walz on X and said that federal officials obtained and executed all of the search warrants on Tuesday.
&#8220;Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.&#8221;
At least 22 businesses were targeted in the raids. Many of the businesses being investigated by the feds are linked to Minnesota&#8217;s large Somali population. One of the locations raided by the feds on Tuesday morning was the now infamous Quality &#8220;Learing&#8221; Center, whose misspelled sign became the center of Minnesota&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-quality-learing-center-is-officially-closed-state-records-show">fraud controversy</a> in late December.
On Tuesday morning, federal agents were seen taking photos and moving a portable file case inside one daycare in South Minneapolis, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minneapolis-federal-agents-daycares-suspected-fraud/">reported</a>.
Walz, who has been <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-minnesota-governor-walz-and-attorney-general-ellison-lied-about-knowledge-of-fraud-and-silenced-whistleblowers/#:~:text=Testimony%20and%20information%20obtained%20by,Employees%20sounded%20alarms.">accused</a> of lying about the scale of fraud in his state, admitted in a testimony before Congress earlier this year that state government programs have faced fraud problems. Walz, however, argued that his administration has been properly investigating and prosecuting fraud. In late December, Walz raged against President Donald Trump after the president moved to freeze federal child care payments to Minnesota over ongoing fraud issues.
&#8220;We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue — but this has been [Trump&#8217;s] plan all along,&#8221; Walz <a href="https://x.com/GovTimWalz/status/2006159722940879183">said</a>. &#8220;He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.&#8221;
Walz also refused to cooperate with federal agents during the Trump administration&#8217;s Operation Metro Surge, which focused on deportations of illegal immigrants, but also included federal agents looking into suspected fraud. The operation was launched shortly after independent journalist Nick Shirley brought attention back onto Minnesota and Governor Walz with his reporting on Somali-owned daycares in December.
Fraud in state-run programs exploded under Walz&#8217;s watch going back to 2018. Since then, dozens of Somalis have been arrested and charged with defrauding numerous Minnesota social programs, including the federally funded Feeding Our Future nonprofit, which engaged in a massive fraud scheme during the COVID pandemic. The scandal also derailed Walz&#8217;s hopes for a third term as governor as he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/us/walz-governor-fraud-klobuchar.html">announced</a> in January that he was ending his re-election bid because of the growing fraud issues in his state.
After taking credit for the raids on suspected fraudsters on Tuesday, Walz called on the federal government to investigate the killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot to death by federal immigration agents in January.
&#8220;Now let’s work on a joint investigation into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — instead of cherry picking when we seek justice and when we turn a blind eye,&#8221; he wrote.

Tim Walz Brags About Fighting Somali Fraud. Kash Patel Is Not Amused.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz launched a new political action committee designed to do something he failed to do as a vice presidential candidate and as governor: win in rural areas.
Walz announced Monday he was launching a project called Small Town PAC with the goal of wooing rural voters to the Democratic Party. In recent years, Democrats have increasingly lost ground in rural areas with most of their support coming from major cities.
“Today, we’re launching Small Town PAC. We’re going to show up in small towns, organize in places too many people have given up on, and build power with the folks who call these places home,” Walz said. “If Democrats want to win in more places, we’ve got to start showing up in more places.”
The Small Town PAC website says that “rebuilding Democratic leadership starts with real conversations about the issues that actually impact people and the courage to challenge the powerful interests pulling communities apart.”
During the 2024 election, the Harris-Walz ticket won just nine of Minnesota’s 87 counties, with their support primarily coming in the population centers of Rochester, Minneapolis, and Duluth. The Trump-Vance ticket won the rest of the state’s more rural counties.
In his two governor’s races, Walz performed slightly better, winning 13 counties in 2022 and peaking at 21 in 2018. One <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/minnesota-poll-walz-approval-slips-161900149.html">poll</a> last year from the Minnesota Star Tribune found that six out of ten voters outside of the Twin Cities area disapproved of Walz. During his time in office, Walz has pushed radical Left policies from gun control to transgender ideology to abortion.
For the past three presidential cycles, Republicans have dominated in rural areas while Democrats have turned to cities. Between 2016 and 2024, Democrat candidates have consistently won 421 counties, while Republican candidates have swept 2,559 counties, and 132 counties have split votes, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/County-level_presidential_election_voting_trends,_2016-2024">according</a> to Ballotpedia.
Walz attacked former opponent Vice President JD Vance in a statement on why he was launching the PAC.
“Republicans like JD Vance like to portray their small-town neighbors as petty, resentful, and small-minded. I disagree,” he said. “I think the problem facing small towns are Republicans like JD Vance.”
Responding to the criticism, Vance’s office pointed to the large amounts of fraud that have been flagged in Minnesota.
“The problem facing many small towns in Minnesota is that Tim Walz gives their money to fraudulent daycares,” the vice president’s office <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/04/20/trumps-inconvenient-truth-00880268">told</a> POLITICO.
Walz faced other criticism over the announcement of his new political project.
“If Democrats want to win in small towns again, this is the last person they should listen to,” <a href="https://x.com/HarryNiska/status/2046263996936826918">said</a> Rep. Harry Niska. &#8220;In eight years as Governor, he has shown voters across Greater Minnesota that the DFL no longer represents them.”

Second And Last Day Of Global Progressive Mobilisation In Barcelona

Tim Walz Is Back, And It Seems He Hasn’t Learned A Thing

Elections

J.D. Vance

Politics

A Minnesota prosecutor is seeking the arrest of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
It appears to be the first such case where local authorities have charged a federal immigration officer tied to President Donald Trump&#8217;s mass deportation campaign.
During a press conference Thursday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that the ICE agent now faces two counts of second-degree assault after he allegedly flashed a gun while passing a driver on the highway. There is now a warrant out for his arrest.
The Minnesota State Patrol received a 911 call in February from the alleged victims, who said a driver pulled up next to them on the shoulder of a highway and pointed a gun at them, Moriarty said.
The ICE agent appeared to be trying &#8220;to bypass slower traffic&#8221; at the time, the county attorney claimed. The other driver &#8220;briefly moved their vehicle into the shoulder to slow him down,&#8221; she said.
Moriarty said that the federal agent &#8220;was driving a rented SUV with no markings or other features to indicate that it was an ICE vehicle.&#8221; When the victim moved out of the shoulder, the agent &#8220;pulled alongside the victim&#8217;s vehicle,&#8221; before he &#8220;visibly slowed his vehicle to match the pace of the victims&#8217; vehicle, opened his window, and pointed his duty weapon directly at both victims in the other vehicle while continuing to drive illegally on the shoulder,&#8221; she said.
The driver then called 911 while the passenger began recording the incident on video, according to Moriarty.
State troopers later identified an ICE agent as the driver and interviewed him at the agency&#8217;s office in Minneapolis, the county attorney said.
The agent &#8220;admitted that he was driving the rented SUV and he and his partner were headed to the Whipple building to end their shift&#8221; and &#8220;that he drew his firearm after the victims&#8217; vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic,&#8221; Moriarty said.
In his statement, the agent also allegedly said &#8220;he yelled &#8216;police'&#8221; at the victims. But the windows of the victims&#8217; vehicle, Moriarty said, &#8220;were rolled up and they couldn&#8217;t hear&#8221; it.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn&#8217;t respond to The Daily Wire&#8217;s request for comment on the charges.
The typical jail time for each of the charges against the ICE agent is 36 months in prison, Moriarty said.
The charges follow the federal withdrawal of hundreds of federal immigration agents from Minneapolis. President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to initiate the drawdown in January, replacing the former Border Patrol sector chief Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive tactics.
Homan&#8217;s arrival came after the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that sparked weeks of protests. The shootings also resulted in the mass mobilization of ICE watch groups that followed federal agents and outed their locations.
During Thursday&#8217;s press conference, Moriarty recalled the Good and Pretti shootings. She also said there&#8217;s no indication the victims were part of ICE watch groups.
Moriarty characterized the accused agent&#8217;s &#8220;conduct&#8221; as &#8220;extremely dangerous,&#8221; adding that it &#8220;could&#8217;ve led to another disastrous incident in a community that has already suffered too many.&#8221;
&#8220;Our community is still navigating the effects of the federal occupation,&#8221; she said.
Asked if she&#8217;s concerned about &#8220;federal blowback&#8221; over the case, Moriarty said &#8220;it&#8217;s not a concern of ours.&#8221;

Untitled design – 2026-04-16T153233.670

Blue State Prosecutor Issues Arrest Warrant For ICE Agent

Donald Trump

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Markwayne Mullin

Minneapolis

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice launched a fraud enforcement division on Tuesday, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on malicious actors taking advantage of public medical and housing programs.
“The American people deserve an end to the crisis of fraud,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference, which was his first time taking questions from reporters since Pam Bondi was pulled from the position.
During the press conference, Blanche told The Daily Wire that every United States Attorney’s Office will have a minimum of one prosecutor dedicated to tackling fraud investigations, and “in many states, more than one.” The DOJ will also be “building up the division” in Washington. The division will be led by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.
“Every single federal agency is involved in this,” he said, noting that many cases come from inspectors general.
The announcement of the division comes as Vice President JD Vance was recently appointed to lead the “Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-fraud-task-force-taps-lead-hunter-biden-prosecutor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported last month that Hunter Biden prosecutor Scott Brady, who is the special counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, will be the executive director of the task force.
“The attorneys and staff who join this new division, you will have the entire department&#8217;s support as you work to protect the financial integrity of our entire government and the tax system that supports it,” Blanche added, noting the creation of the National Fraud Detection Center.
“We will spare no resources in giving you the tools that you need to bring strong cases and do justice. The new division will bring together data and investigators from across the entire government so that you can track down even the most sophisticated fraudsters and hold them accountable,” he continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
There be will at least one fraud division prosecutor at every U.S. attorney’s office, but “‘many more” at others, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told me at today’s presser ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/qmoHzcRAbS">https://t.co/qmoHzcRAbS</a>
— Cameron Arcand (@cameron_arcand) <a href="https://twitter.com/cameron_arcand/status/2041584269143757147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Blanche highlighted numerous recent fraud cases, including eight individuals charged in California last week in a $50 million hospice fraud scheme. Other states, like Minnesota, have come into the national focus over court cases surrounding Medicaid, including fake autism treatment schemes.
“The Southern California region is a high-risk environment for hospice-related and many other forms of health care fraud,” Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement last week regarding the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/8-arrested-health-care-fraud-takedown-including-owners-hospices-billed-taxpayers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hospice case</a>. “The United States loses hundreds of billions of dollars annually to healthcare fraud at the expense of all American taxpayers, whose benefits decrease as premiums, co-payments and taxes grow. Our aim is to reverse that trend with ‘Operation Never Say Die’ and others like it.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche Holds News Conference At Justice Department

‘Crisis Of Fraud’: DOJ Unveils New Crackdown Unit To Hunt Down Billions In Government Abuse

California

justice department

Pam Bondi

Todd Blanche

Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that Somali-born Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar &#8220;definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America&#8221; and added that the Trump administration is seeking to &#8220;go after her.&#8221;
Vance, who is leading President Donald Trump&#8217;s anti-fraud crackdown throughout the United States, was <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2037584240259240315">asked</a> about fraud allegations against Omar by conservative commentator Benny Johnson.
&#8220;We actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;And I talked to [Trump adviser] Stephen Miller about this recently, we&#8217;re trying to look at what the remedies are.&#8221;
“What are the legal remedies now that we know she’s committed immigration fraud? How do you go after her? How do you investigate her? How do you build the case necessary to get some justice for the American people?” Vance added.
As Trump zeroed in on investigating fraud in Minnesota in recent months, he brought up allegations that Omar married her brother to help him obtain a green card. Trump has also called for Omar to be &#8220;thrown out of the country.&#8221; People convicted of immigration fraud could be denaturalized and deported under U.S. law, and people can be convicted for fraudulently helping another person obtain naturalization.
Omar arrived in the United States as a refugee in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, when she was just 17 years old. Nine years later, Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, whom some allege is her biological brother. Omar has been accused of marrying Elmi, who was a British citizen at the time, so he could obtain a green card. Omar and Elmi reportedly separated in 2011, just two years after their marriage, and officially divorced in 2017.
Elmi was Omar&#8217;s second husband. She married Ahmed Hirsi in a religious ceremony in 2002, but never made the marriage legally valid. Omar said she split from Hirsi, the father of her three children, in 2008, just one year before she married Elmi. Omar and her first husband reconciled just months after separating from Elmi.
Omar, one of the most liberal lawmakers on Capitol Hill, has <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/08/17/ilhan-omar-marriage-history">denied</a> the accusations that she married her biological brother, calling them &#8220;absurd and offensive.&#8221;
Vance also said that Omar is being scrutinized over her connection to &#8220;a lot of the worst fraudsters in the Somali community&#8221; in Minneapolis. The vice president told Johnson that he&#8217;s &#8220;not certain&#8221; that Omar was aware of the fraud being committed in Minnesota, but added, &#8220;We certainly need to investigate it.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m worried about the immigration fraud,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;I&#8217;m also worried about what did Ilhan Omar know about what was happening in the Somali community, and why was nobody looking into it until, frankly, Donald Trump came along?&#8221;
Federal prosecutors have uncovered billions of dollars of fraud in Minnesota in recent years. The massive fraud scandal resulted in dozens of convictions and involved many people from Minneapolis’s large Somali community.

Ilhan Omar/JD Vance

Vance Drops ‘Immigration Fraud’ Bombshell On ‘Squad’ Member

Vance Says Ilhan Omar 'Definitely Committed Immigration Fraud'

Ilhan Omar

Immigration

Here we go again. Minnesota’s elected officials have proven that the extreme progressives are in charge in the North Star State, beholden to the radical progressive activists who crawl out of every nook and cranny of the Twin Cities’s prestigious, white, liberal suburbs and exurbs. 
 
If you thought this was still the land of the milquetoast, “Minnesota Nice,” I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. 
 
In the aftermath of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that began last summer and ramped up as the White House began cracking down on widespread fraud, Minnesota has been ground zero for purity tests of the far-Left regime. Now, there’s a horse race for the Democrat Farmer Labor candidate for Minnesota’s Senate seat, after current Senator Tina Smith announced her retirement at the end of this term. 
 
The race to the Left — or the bottom, depending on which way the political winds are blowing — is between current Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig. Both women flash their “girl power” bone fides at every chance, except when they’re appealing to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walz-signed-exec-order-protecting-trans-procedures-on-minors-while-holding-hand-of-gender-confused-12-year-old">trans-affirmative activists</a> who claim sex is a social construct, or to the abortion rights radicals who endanger women’s health and applaud the death of baby girls up to the <a href="https://alphanews.org/angie-craig-voted-against-bill-to-establish-protections-for-babies-who-survive-attempted-abortions/">moment of birth</a>. 
 
The latest show of extreme views comes from Craig, who, in a <a href="https://www.startribune.com/ice-agent-surge-minnesota-protests-federal-enforcement/601591429">commentary</a> in The Minnesota Star Tribune, writes of her “regret” in voting for the Laken Riley Act, the first bill that President Donald Trump signed into law in his second term. 
 
It’s “become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” Craig writes. She cites the act’s expansion of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to include the detention without bail of noncitizen aliens while their immigration proceedings were pending to nonviolent offenders and provides for detaining aliens who are charged with or convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer. 
 
Craig comes to her lament after standing “side by side with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis and opposite dozens of armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Whipple Federal Building.” She makes no mention of the victims of these aliens’ <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-dozens-criminal-illegal-aliens-convicted-murder-child-rape-and-more">crimes</a> — crimes that put them on the ICE radar and, thanks to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, were free to live as “neighbors” instead of being detained by law enforcement in the local jails. 
 
How did her fellow DFL-er and political rival Peggy Flanagan respond? She pounced on it as an inexcusable failing in the moral purity test that the Minnesota extremist cabal uses as the standard operating procedure in politics. Flanagan posted on X a video clip of Craig voicing her support for the bill before her walk-back, adding, “Nothing can undo the damage that has been done.” Shots fired.
“Minnesotans want common sense,” Michele Tafoya, a Republican seeking that seat, told The Daily Wire. “We want law and order. But we are run by far Left career politicians who put their own careers ahead of the safety of innocent, law-abiding Minnesotans. Some of them are crazy, some of them are cowards and some of them are both. It has to change.”
“Angie Craig turning her back on the Laken Riley Act because her far Left base demands it is a craven act. Moderate Democrats have gone extinct in Minnesota,” she added.
In Minnesota, we were offered a bait-and-switch with Walz, who, in statewide elections and in his miserable bid for vice president alongside Kamala Harris, was touted as an American Everyman action figure, complete with a vintage truck, Mountain Dew, and hunting accessories. But his <a href="https://www.americanexperiment.org/what-america-needs-to-know-about-tim-walz-of-minnesota/">record </a>reveals extremist policies and disdain for the average fellas he was recruited to represent. Walz is one example of a new trend on the Left: Campaign as a moderate and, once elected, push hard-Left, radical policies.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has appeared on various conservative platforms with a moderate <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/15/us-news/gavin-newsom-backtracks-on-outrageous-ice-claims-made-by-his-own-team-in-shapiro-interview/">tone</a>. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger&#8217;s State of the Union <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-rising-stars-sotu-rebuttal-ripped-conservatives-anyone-who-claims-she-moderate-liar">rebuttal</a> last month displayed rank hypocrisy and a laughable attempt at &#8220;Moderate Dem&#8221; rebranding.
Spanberger, who ran as a moderate, is now proposing sweeping, state-wide tax hikes, and criticizing immigration enforcement to the point of <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dhs-blasts-spanberger-potential-release-182714286.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall">denying</a> an ICE detainer for an illegal immigrant with over 30 arrests accused of stabbing a 41-year-old woman to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County. Even socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani leveraged the &#8220;affordability&#8221; buzzword and an inclusive demeanor to obfuscate sky-high tax policies and his anti-Jewish, anti-Israel history.
We’ll continue to see this leftward march, purity tests, and hyperbolic rhetoric in support of these extreme measures — unhindered hormone and surgical procedures on minors for sex transitions, unlimited abortion, allowing males to compete against females in sports and opening bathrooms and locker rooms to all genders — and now siding with criminal aliens against law abiding citizens who truly want their neighborhoods safe rather than be battlegrounds for the latest Karen to proclaim her woke creds with an “ICE OUT” sign and safety whistle. What do you expect from a governor who publicly called ICE officers Nazis and compared them to the <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5307956-minnesota-gov-tim-walz-gestapo-trump/">Gestapo</a>? 
 
Rest in peace to the moderate Democrat who understood the errors of the Biden administration&#8217;s open border policy, who saw the damage of crime, rising welfare burdens, failed assimilation, and the deaths of innocent Americans at the hands of illegal aliens, and worked toward a common-sense solution — even (gasp!) voting with Republicans. In fact, high-profile wins like Mamdani&#8217;s and Spanberger&#8217;s have emboldened the progressive wing, raising the possibility of an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://x.com/SteveGuest/status/2028301350006595984?s=20">presidential bid</a> in 2028 over a moderate candidate. 
 
Bucking the far-Left puts politicians and civilians alike squarely in the fascist camp — just ask former Minnesota <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4982938-dean-phillips-my-voice-was-ignored/">Congressman Dean Phillips</a> or Pennsylvania <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-old-city-fridays-at-fettermans-protest-gaza-israel-war/">Senator John Fetterman</a>. If you’re a moderate, you’re owed any targeted violence, protest, or condemnation coming your way, even if it’s in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-ice-mob-storms-minnesota-church-over-pastors-alleged-ties-immigration-enforcement">house of worship</a>. 
 
How far Left are Democrats willing to go? If it’s a way to rile up the extremist base, keep the spotlight off the bottomless fraud scandals, and make the Trump administration Public Enemy Number One, the sky’s the limit. The extremists are at the wheel, and after flattening any moderates in their party, they’ve backed up the truck, ready for another round of hit-and-run.
* * *
Jenna Stocker is editor and publisher of American Experiment’s quarterly magazine. A former Marine Corps officer, Stocker also contributes to The Federalist and National Review.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Minnesota Democrats Hold News Conference Ahead Of State Of The Union

R.I.P. The Moderate Democrat

Abortion

Democrats

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Leftism

Liberalism

Opinion

Progressivism

Transgender

Republican lawmakers repeatedly pushed Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday over his handling of the Feeding Our Future scandal, which federal prosecutors have described as the nation’s largest COVID scam, involving $250 million for meals supposedly going to the hungry. 
Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison faced questions about <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Cost-of-Doing-Nothing_How-Tim-Walz-and-Keith-Ellison-Fueled-Minnesotas-Fraud-Explosion_3.4.26_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings</a> cited by Republicans that more than $9 billion in social service fraud has occurred under their watch. Both Democrats have claimed they took appropriate actions to combat and root out fraud. 
“For years, Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison presided over one of the most extensive breakdowns of oversight this committee has ever examined. Billions of taxpayer dollars were stolen from social service programs while warnings piled up, whistleblowers spoke out, and state officials chose delay and denial over action,” Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) said. “Federal prosecutors estimate that as much as $9 billion may have been stolen from just 14 Medicaid programs administered by the state of Minnesota.”
The suspected fraud made up about half of the $18 billion distributed through the programs since 2018, Comer said. One notable example of fraud was the Feeding Our Future scam, in which fraudsters, some of whom were Somali nationals, billed the government for $250 million in meals that were never distributed. 
During the hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) pressed Walz on why payments to Feeding Our Future resumed just one month after the Minnesota Department of Education suspended them over suspected irregularities. 
Walz said they restarted because the agency said that the “court had required them to make those payments.”
Jordan then pointed to a <a href="https://mncourts.gov/about-the-courts/newsandannouncements/feeding-our-future-v-minnesota-department-of-education-correcting-media-reports-and-statements-by-governor-tim-walz-concerning-orders-issued-by-the-court">statement</a> from the Minnesota Judicial Branch saying Walz had made inaccurate statements about the payments and that the court “never ordered” them to restart. 
“The attorneys at the Department of Education interpreted that differently. Both of those judges are no longer on the bench,” Walz said. 
Walz was also asked about allegations that his office retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns about the state&#8217;s handling of fraud. Some have claimed they were told to stay silent over fears of being perceived as “racist” or “Islamophobic.” 
“I can&#8217;t speak to what they said. I can tell you it didn&#8217;t happen,” Walz told Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) when asked about claims his office retaliated against whistleblowers. 
The Trump administration has paused hundreds of millions in federal funding to Minnesota social service programs, citing widespread fraud concerns. 
Vice President JD Vance, who has been tasked by President Trump with leading efforts to combat federal fraud, announced last week that $260 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota had been paused pending further review.

Minnesota Gov. Walz And AG Ellison Testify At Hearing On Social Services Fraud

Walz Grilled Over Oversight Failures In Nation’s Largest COVID Scam

Congress

James Comer

Fraudsters are robbing America blind. The federal government <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-105833">estimates</a> fraud costs a family of four roughly $4,000 each year.
Fraud is the inevitable byproduct of a bloated bureaucracy that spends <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/government/receipts-and-expenditures">$11 trillion annually</a> at the federal, state, and local levels. To conduct an audit, we would need an army of indefatigable accountants. In the past, we couldn’t raise such an army, but now we can. We simply need competent leadership in Congress to deploy it.
This system could have saved <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-fraud-feeding-our-future-medicaid-9911799c0d0149a64a042abed095be57">billions</a> in Minnesota alone. Instead of sending millions in taxpayer dollars to the <a href="https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/dr-oz-on-medicaid-fraud-fact-finding-mission-in-minnesota-2b-could-be-at-stake/">400 supposed</a> healthcare providers huddled in an industrial building in St. Paul, Minnesota, our government could have sent an FBI team. They would have stopped payments to “<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/dozens-charged-in-250-million-covid-fraud-scheme-092122">Feeding Our Future</a>,” where fraudsters faked child rosters, randomly assigned ages, and reported meal volumes wildly inconsistent with site capacity — the kind of fraud that is easy for an AI to catch.
The technical solution is to use AI to spot and block fraudulent government payments, such as those to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-quality-learing-center-is-officially-closed-state-records-show">fake daycares</a> in Minnesota. Your bank already does it. If you live in Minneapolis and your card is used in Florida, your bank will deny the transaction and call you within minutes. By contrast, the government’s optional payment screening service has been branded <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/M-25-32-Preventing-Improper-Payments-and-Protecting-Privacy-Through-Do-Not-Pay.pdf">a failure</a>.
Modern AI tools can detect fraud patterns that fool humans, such as multiple nonprofits with the same address, beneficiaries, board members, and employees. These tools automatically flag anomalies like spikes in billing and implausible service delivery. When something is suspicious, these tools can stop the payment for further investigation by a human team.
Congress should require all agencies to run any payment over $10,000 through a fraud detection system and change the law to allow the government to pause suspicious payments. AI can adjudicate most cases quickly. Narrow exceptions should be made for cases where immediate payments are critical to national security. The system can exist within the Treasury, Government Accountability Office, or even report directly to Congress. Regardless of where it lives, we need an elite team of data scientists, engineers, and investigators who oversee our all-important tax dollars competently and ethically.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and state Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) testify on alleged misuse of federal funds in Minnesota at <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPoversight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/OversightDems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OversightDems</a> – LIVE on C-SPAN3 <a href="https://t.co/LkMJ0ZVExm">https://t.co/LkMJ0ZVExm</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2029197002651701402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source: @cspan/X.com
But tech is not enough. We need the legal tools to stop fraudulent payments immediately. Would you keep paying the bill on a stolen credit card for years? That’s what the government does. When agencies suspect fraud, they often continue paying fraudsters until a court declares the “vendor” to be violating their contract. “Feeding Our Future” received $250 million of taxpayer money for years after the first <a href="https://www.governing.com/management-and-administration/minnesotas-inadequate-oversight-led-to-250m-meal-program-fraud?utm_source=chatgpt.com">allegations</a> of fraud. When Minnesota’s Department of Education slowed the payments on its suspicions, “Feeding Our Future” sued; the judge <a href="https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/judge-rebukes-walz-assertion-that-he-ordered-mde-to-resume-payments-to-feeding-our-future/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">questioned</a> whether the agency had followed the required administrative procedures, and payments to fraudsters resumed. This illustrates a general point — fraudsters know that even credible red flags rarely trigger an immediate stop-pay and criminal prosecution, because agencies lack <a href="https://www.governing.com/management-and-administration/minnesotas-inadequate-oversight-led-to-250m-meal-program-fraud?utm_source=chatgpt.com">investigatory tools</a> and fear losing in court.
Congress, however, lacks technical competence and leadership. While half of all senators are <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48535">lawyers</a> by training, there is only <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48535">one senator</a> with an engineering degree. The Senate is not representative of America’s immense economic growth, driven in large part by technologists. It’s time for us to harness that technology to make the government serve us better.
Our prosperity and freedom are at stake. Polarization and growing mistrust in our institutions, coupled with enormous peacetime deficits, are a combustible mix. We can quell it with technology and competent leadership. Stamping out large-scale fraud could cut our deficit by as much as a quarter. Addressing waste as well could eliminate our deficit entirely. Only when families feel the benefits of our prosperity in their own budgets — through lower taxes, cheaper childcare, and healthcare — will the political pressure cool and give us space to confront our most serious challenges as a nation.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, Americans laid the foundation of the most successful democratic government in the world. Our government grew with our prosperity — eventually making full oversight impossible by human effort alone. Today, we have the technology to make our government the most upright and efficient in the world. We need leaders who are capable and willing to use it to protect our taxes, our freedoms, and our future. 

* * *
Mark York is a Harvard-trained computer scientist and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. 

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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