Reporter’s Notebook: Omar’s long history of controversy keeps her in the spotlight

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is one of the most controversial members of Congress.

Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., are the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress. Along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., they form the original members of the Squad, a team of progressive women who entered Congress simultaneously in 2019.

The quartet is visible. They’re outspoken. And they, like many other lawmakers, are often the targets of threats or even violence itself.

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Authorities charged a man in 2019 for threatening to kill Tlaib. Omar has received menacing voicemails — even suggesting she had something to do with 9/11. A Texas man faced charges for wanting to assassinate Ocasio-Cortez in 2021. The same year, the House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting an animated video that depicted him killing a character resembling the New York Democrat.

A man lunged at Omar during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, spraying her with what appeared to be apple cider vinegar from a syringe.

“We must abolish ICE for good. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must face impeachment,” declared Omar at the meeting.

That’s when Anthony James Kazmierczak sprang at Omar, spraying her with a stinky, brown liquid.

“It smells terrible!” exclaimed someone in the crowd.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! It’s all over the place!” an aide shouted. 

“We need you to get checked!” hollered someone else.

But Omar maintained her composure and continued the town hall meeting.

“Just give me ten minutes, I beg you,” said Omar, worried that her aides might cancel the rest of the meeting. “Please don’t let them have the show. Here is the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand. We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”

TRUMP RIPS ‘CROOKED’ ILHAN OMAR AS HOUSE RAMPS UP INVESTIGATION INTO EXPLODING NET WORTH

Police later charged Kazmierczak with third-degree assault, arguing he “forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded, intimidated and interfered” with Omar.

“One thing that ICE has succeeded in doing is make Minneapolis residents love Minneapolis police,” said Omar, drawing laughter.

Omar frequently catches criticism from President Donald Trump. After the attack, the president suggested that Omar “probably sprayed herself.” The president also signaled there was a DOJ probe into Omar.

“The DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Ilhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” the president posted to Truth Social.

“I was told that Ilhan Omar is worth $30 million. She never had a job. She’s a crooked Congressman,” said Trump during a speech.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt recently questioned how it’s “possible” that the congresswoman may now be worth tens of millions of dollars since coming to office in 2019.

“Is she connected to the fraud rings that we have seen taking place with her state and her own district?” asked Leavitt. “It’s a question the American people are asking, and the president believes it’s one worth answering.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has now opened a formal investigation into the finances of Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett. Comer defended his move, saying the House Ethics Committee gave him the green light to do so. Comer said the Ethics panel couldn’t touch Mynett because he’s not a member. That may be true. But lawmakers must state the wealth of congressional spouses on financial disclosure reforms. Omar claims her money came from Mynett and his consulting business. The congresswoman says she did nothing wrong.

‘SORRY, TRUMP’: ILHAN OMAR FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP TARGETS HER IN TRUTH SOCIAL POST

We don’t know much yet about Omar’s finances. But she is a lightning rod. It’s hard to lower the temperature when you have a controversial lawmaker who has said questionable things about 9/11 and faced attacks from the president and the White House.

But fellow lawmakers are worried about threats to lawmakers.

“That’s assault,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., when asked about Kazmierczak spraying Omar. “You could dislike somebody’s positions. You can be vocal about that. You want to protest somebody? That’s fine. Have at it. But disrupting their meetings, their rallies, their town halls and assaulting them? No way.”

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., noted that “the president never disappoints” when blasting Omar.

As a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, Durbin gets a U.S. Capitol Police security detail. But in this environment, the Senate’s number two Democrat says he still feels “vulnerable.”

Durbin recounted a story recently about how someone “confronted me in a situation. I thought if she had a gun in her hand, I would be dead. She was so angry and emotional. And unfortunately, that consideration is part of public life in America today.”

Durbin pointed out that even Trump has faced two threats on his life: One in Butler, Pennsylvania. The other at Mar-a-Lago. And more recently, police shot and killed Austin Tucker Martin when he tried to break into the president’s Florida compound.

This comes as U.S. Capitol Police released its recent threat report against lawmakers. For 2025, USCP says there were 14,938 bona fide threats against members of Congress that demanded an investigation. That’s up from just 9,474 the year before. And 8,008 in 2023.

Capitol Police also arrested 18-year-old Carter Camacho of Smyrna, GA, last month. Camacho charged at the Capitol, sprinting several hundred yards with a shotgun and wearing a tactical vest. Police say he had a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask inside his car. Camacho’s motive was unclear.

There will be other threats and incidents, like the man running toward the Capitol. Some reverberate for years, like when House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and others were shot at a congressional baseball practice. And the reason the USCP numbers are so high is that lawmakers and their staff routinely field phone calls and emails that threaten harm. Sometimes to the families of lawmakers.

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It’s enough to scare some people off from serving in office. Politicians have always faced threats. But what’s frightening is that it appears to grow a little worse every year. The stats bear that out. The Capitol Police do a good job. But the scariest part is that no law enforcement agency wields the capacity to protect such a large contingent of people from harm.

WATCH: Walz, Ellison, Omar refuse to answer when pressed on fraud after contentious fraud hearing

Following the highly anticipated House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud Wednesday, Fox News Digital pressed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison about their roles in the scandal but received no response from the embattled officials.

“Why wasn’t the fraud caught sooner, governor?” Walz was asked after the hearing. “Almost $10 billion — why wasn’t it caught sooner?”

Walz declined to answer as he was escorted down a hallway by staff but stopped briefly to speak with another individual. During a second encounter, Walz again declined to answer the question but acknowledged a security guard as he walked down the hallway.

“Mr. Attorney General, can you tell us why the fraud wasn’t caught sooner?” Ellison was asked after his testimony.

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Ellison did not respond and continued walking up a staircase.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who did not testify Wednesday but has faced criticism for her ties to the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal in the state, did not respond after the hearing when Fox News Digital began asking her questions.

Walz and Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during the hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most focused on one key theme: What did they know, and when did they know it?

Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics about when they were first made aware of the fraud and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.

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“You did not do your job, you did not do your job,” Foxx told Walz. “You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can’t be held personally responsible at this stage in the game.”

An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media. 

One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred, without getting specific figures from Walz.

“OK, so your excuse before — that you didn’t know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It’s unbelievable.”

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GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment, asking him to say he was “leading” the fight to root out corruption. Without receiving the specific answer he was looking for, Higgins called for Ellison’s resignation.

“I’m not talking about Medicaid fraud, don’t hide behind that,” Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. “You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I’m giving you an opportunity, sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?” Higgins pressed.

“You are not leading. I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign,” Higgins said.

At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his reelection bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for “malfeasance,” citing Minnesota’s Constitution.

Comer claims whistleblowers warned Walz for years about Minnesota fraud and were told to ‘stand down’

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said Minnesota state employees warned Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison for years about alleged fraud in state-administered programs, and some were told to “stand down” or face retaliation.

Comer and Republican lawmakers peppered Walz and Ellison with questions during Wednesday’s House hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state after a months-long probe by the House Oversight Committee.

Much of the inquiry centered on what they knew about the fraud and when they knew it.

MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKER URGES CONGRESS TO PRESS WALZ AT FRAUD HEARING: ‘REAL ISSUES TO DEAL WITH’

“After months of bringing in the whistleblowers … they testified under oath that they had been warning Gov. Walz and Attorney General Ellison for years about the fraud, and they were told to stand down,” Comer told “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday.

He alleged that some employees were retaliated against because Walz and Ellison didn’t want to hurt their base of “welfare recipients, especially that big Somali voting bloc.”

TOP 5 WILDEST MOMENTS AS GOP LAWMAKERS CLASHED WITH WALZ, ELLISON IN HEATED FRAUD HEARING: ‘UNBELIEVABLE’

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future. The probe has since widened to investigate multiple state-run programs for potential fraud. Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.

Comer said he and his investigators spoke to 30 state employees who administer these programs.

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“What they said is there are groups that specialize in going in and getting these Somalis set up in these fake businesses. The government employees can tell right off the bat whether they’re fake, whether they’re overbilling and [engaging in] suspicious activity,” he said, adding that the whistleblowers were mostly Democrats.

“They warned Gov. Walz and Attorney General Ellison, and time after time, they were, ‘Don’t worry about it. Stand down.’ Because that was a huge voting bloc for the Democrat Party in Minnesota.”

Walz and Ellison previously pushed back on any accusations that they knowingly allowed fraud in Minnesota’s social programs and have accused Republicans of politicizing the situation.

Tafoya rips Walz ‘dodging’ accountability in hearing, unveils plan to fight fraud: ‘Full weight of the law’

EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya slammed Gov. Tim Walz’s testimony on the massive fraud scandal roiling Minnesota during a contentious House hearing on Wednesday and outlined her plan to combat fraud, which she says voters have been clamoring about on the campaign trial. 

House Oversight Committee Republicans grilled Walz over allegations he knowingly permitted the sprawling fraud scheme to continue under his watch despite repeated warnings from whistleblowers. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also testified under oath at the hearing. 

“Seeing Tim Walz testify today on fraud was everything I expected it to be: dodging, giving answers that were incomplete, not having information at his disposal, simply kind of passing the buck and taking credit for people behind bars that really he had nothing to do with,” Tafoya told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Wednesday.

“This is par for the course for Tim Walz,” Tafoya said. “This is why he is no longer running for governor for a third term. It was more of the same. Same with A.G. Keith Ellison.”

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Tafoya, a longtime former NFL sideline reporter, recently launched a campaign for Minnesota’s open Democratic-held Senate seat. She is vowing to crack down on the fraud scheme involving the state’s welfare programs, which unfolded during the tenure of Walz and his deputy, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Tafoya could face Flanagan, a progressive Democrat running for the state’s open Senate seat, in the November general election.

Federal prosecutors allege fraudsters stole as much as $9 billion in taxpayer money and have charged nearly 100 individuals, many of Somali descent, in various Minnesota fraud-related cases.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a three-part anti-fraud plan from Tafoya’s campaign, which she is promising to enact if elected to the Senate in November.

Tafoya said she would cosponsor the Deporting Fraudsters Act, which would allow for noncitizens who are convicted of fraud to be deported and barred from entering the United States. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the legislation in 2025, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate.

 “If you are an immigrant in this country, you are a guest of this country, and you are convicted of defrauding the American people, you will be deported,” Tafoya said. 

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Tafoya is also pledging to crack down on Americans convicted of stealing taxpayer money. She told Fox News Digital that she would work to enact new mandatory minimum sentences for those involved in fraud schemes. 

“This is not a second-class crime anymore,” the Minnesota Republican added. “This deserves the full weight of the law.”

Thirdly, Tafoya voiced support for the Trump administration’s recent moves to temporarily halt hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to states that fail to implement anti-fraud controls. 

The Trump administration recently announced it would withhold roughly $260 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota until the state government puts guardrails in place to eliminate fraud. Federal officials have said the state could see more than $1 billion in deferred payments if Walz fails to comply with the president’s “war on fraud.”

Though Minnesota voters tend to favor Democrats at the federal level, Tafoya argued the fraud scandal gives Republicans an opening to flip the seat. Senate Republicans are also targeting Democratic-held seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire during the midterms. 

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“When I go and talk to people around the state of Minnesota and the word fraud comes up, there is an audible sort of hum or roar of disapproval,” Tafoya said. “People are sick to their stomach over it, and I think it really is driving people to the polls this November.”

Tafoya, who is backed by Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, is expected to cruise to the general election despite facing a crowded field of candidates. On the Democratic side, Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are engaged in a bitter fight for the party’s nomination ahead of the August primary.

Tom Emmer calls for Tim Walz, Keith Ellison to ‘serve jail time’ if fraud coverup allegations are true

EXCLUSIVE: The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is calling for a deeper investigation into allegations that leaders in his state government knowingly ignored evidence of welfare fraud, and he called for those leaders to even face incarceration if proven true.

“People are sick and tired of elected officials having a double standard, being treated differently than they are. They’re held accountable for things that they should be held accountable for, when their elected officials are not,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital. 

“If these two guys are dirty, they should be held accountable, and they should serve jail time.”

He was referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, two of several witnesses at a high-profile hearing on fraud conducted by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

GREGG JARRETT: IF WALZ IS CHARGED IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL, HIS BEST DEFENSE IS INCOMPETENCE

Both Walz and Ellison insisted that they were serious about prosecuting fraud in the state’s social programs and that they took action to stop it once it was brought to their attention.

But Emmer cited a report by the House Oversight Committee that accused them both of knowing about the fraud earlier than previously thought and delaying public accountability for fear of political retribution from progressives in the state — particularly the Somali community in Minneapolis, who Republicans have accused of taking advantage of the state’s welfare system.

“They might have been able to qualify it enough that it wasn’t black and white, but if they lied to the committee this morning about knowing about the fraud and when they knew about the fraud and the FBI investigation, that is a criminal act of its own,” Emmer told Fox News Digital.

SCATHING AUDIT REVEALS MORE FRAUD CONCERNS INSIDE TOP MINNESOTA AGENCY WITH FABRICATED DOCUMENTS, ‘MISCONDUCT’

“So I do believe, depending on this report and what else the majority staff is doing, they very well may want to call them back in and depose them under oath.”

He added at another point, “You have maybe 80 to 100,000 Somalis in Minnesota. Tim Walz won with 52%. They made a difference. Keith Ellison won by less than 1%. I think it was 20,000 votes. Makes a difference. So if those are connected, yeah, I mean, this is campaign fraud.”

“I’ve taken accountability for this. I’m not going to run again. I need to spend the time fixing this,” Walz said during the hearing. “This does undermine trust in government. Do I wish there were things that could have happened earlier? Yes. But in this job, ‘wish’ didn’t do it. I’m looking into where I see it.”

CONVICTED MINNESOTA FRAUDSTER ALLEGES WALZ, ELLISON WERE AWARE OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD

At another point, Walz attributed the rise in fraud statistics to an increase in prosecutions, telling Republicans, “When you catch people and prosecute them, it shows up as a fraud increase.”

He also dismissed accusations that he kept whistle-blowers quiet over fear of being seen as Islamophobic, “I can’t speak to it because it’s not anything I would say.”

Ellison, meanwhile, said he was happy to work across bipartisan lines to prosecute fraud.

“I am here to work to improve this system, and there are improvements that can be made,” he said. “If we can get out of fixing the blame and get to fixing the problem, that would be an enormous thing for me.”

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But Emmer, who maintained that further investigation was needed, suggested he doubted their intentions.

“It’s power. They want power. In order for them to get power, they need to be elected. In order for them to get elected, they have to cheat in different ways. And that is exactly what they did,” Emmer said. “If the Somali community is being used by these public officials to get themselves into office…it sure does look suspect, it needs to be investigated.”

Top 5 wildest moments as GOP lawmakers clashed with Walz, Ellison in heated fraud hearing: ‘Unbelievable’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during a Wednesday House hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most of the questions focused on one key theme: What did they know, and when did they know it?

Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics regarding when they were first made aware of the fraud problems and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.

“You did not do your job, you did not do your job,” Foxx told Walz. “You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can’t be held personally responsible at this stage in the game.”

An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media. 

WALZ ACCUSED BY JORDAN OF TRYING TO ‘HIDE BEHIND’ COURT ORDER IN FEEDING OUR FUTURE PAYMENTS

“Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?” Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday.

The exchange centered on Walz’s past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns.

Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governor’s characterization of the events.

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“So either you’re lying or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you which one is it?” Jordan said.

One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred without getting specific numbers back from Walz.

“Ok, so your excuse before — that you didn’t know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It’s unbelievable.”

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Walz shot back that he wouldn’t be a “prop” for Mace, and she eventually said, “I expect you to know this information. Thank God you’re not vice president of the United States.”

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment asking him to say he was “leading” the fight against rooting out corruption without getting the specific answer he was looking for, prompting him to call for Ellison’s resignation. 

“I’m not talking about Medicaid fraud, don’t hide behind that,” Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. “You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I’m giving you an opportunity sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?” Higgins pressed.

“We are following the law,” Ellison said before Higgins cut him off again.

“You are not leading, I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign,” Higgins said.

At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his re-election bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for “malfeasance,” citing Minnesota’s own state Constitution. 

Walz mocked online after GOP lawmaker floats theory in heated hearing about why Kamala Harris chose him as VP

GOP Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, blasted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a heated fraud hearing Wednesday during an exchange that was quickly amplified by conservatives on social media. 

“It’s been widely reported that, in 2008, when Barack Obama was choosing his vice presidential candidate, he had three criteria. He wanted to make sure he picked someone that wasn’t as smart as him and had less talent and charisma and couldn’t possibly outshine him, so he picked Joe Biden,” Fallon said in the House Oversight Committee hearing. 

“And then Joe Biden in 2020 used the exact same criteria,” Fallon continued. “He wanted to make sure he picked somebody that wasn’t as smart as him, had less talent and charisma and wouldn’t outshine him. And he picked Kamala Harris.”

Fallon went on to say that, in 2024, “I think it’s very evident why Kamala Harris picked you.”

WALZ ACCUSED BY JORDAN OF TRYING TO ‘HIDE BEHIND’ COURT ORDER IN FEEDING OUR FUTURE PAYMENTS

Walz appeared to take the criticism in stride, laughing and responding with, “I wouldn’t know, Congressman.”

“The talent pool isn’t just shallow, brother. We have hit the shore,” Fallon said before ending his questioning. 

The clip immediately made waves on social media, particularly from conservatives.

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“Tim Walz just got SCORCHED,” conservative commentator Nick Sortor posted on X. 

Conservative influencer account Libs of TikTok called the exchange “one of the most INCREDIBLE OWNS in American politics.”

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“Rep. Pat Fallon torches Tim Walz,” Brandon Straka, the founder of the #walkaway campaign, posted on X.

Much has been made in media reports and books in recent months about what went into Harris’ decision to name Walz her running mate instead of other candidates, particularly Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Ultimately, according to the book “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” Harris “went with her gut” and chose Walz believing he was the “better fit” in a decision her staff was “unanimously behind.”

Walz accused by Jordan of trying to ‘hide behind’ court order in Feeding Our Future payments

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of trying to “hide behind” a court order to explain why the state resumed payments to Feeding Our Future (FOF), a nonprofit at the center of a massive pandemic-era child nutrition fraud scheme.

“Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?” Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday.

The exchange centered on Walz’s past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns.

Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governor’s characterization of the events.

‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

“On September 22, 2022, Governor Tim Walz told the media that the Minnesota Department of Education attempted to end payments to FOF because of possible fraud, but that Judge Guthmann ordered payments to continue in April 2021. That is also false,” the release stated. 

 “As the public court record and Judge Guthmann’s orders make plain, Judge Guthmann never issued an order requiring the MN Department of Education to resume food reimbursement payments to FOF.”

During the hearing, Jordan read from the judge’s statement and pressed Walz directly.

MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKER URGES CONGRESS TO PRESS WALZ AT FRAUD HEARING: ‘REAL ISSUES TO DEAL WITH’

“So either you’re lying or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you which one is it?” Jordan said.

Walz responded that his understanding at the time was based on legal advice from within the agency.

“The agency believed that the court had required them to make those payments,” Walz said, arguing the attorneys at the Department of Education interpreted it differently.

JAMES COMER TO ACCUSE TIM WALZ OF BEING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ AT FRAUD HEARING

“I just simply know what the attorneys at the agency believe that it was a misinterpretation,” he added.

Jordan rejected that explanation, telling the governor: “You’re trying to hide behind some pretend court order. Some court order that didn’t exist.”

The Justice Department announced in November that a 36-year-old Minnesota man was charged with wire fraud and money laundering, becoming the 78th defendant charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

MINNESOTA HOUSE SPEAKER WARNS AMERICANS WILL BE ‘SHOCKED’ BY SCOPE OF FRAUD CRISIS

Federal prosecutors have said the scheme involved more than $250 million in stolen taxpayer funds intended to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House Oversight Committee said on Jan. 7 that the Justice Department has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent.

Walz told Jordan during the hearing that he didn’t know how many people were indicted in his state.

“I don’t have those numbers with me,” he said.

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The governor, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election, acknowledged that Minnesota’s programs are not immune from fraud.

“I’ll be the first to acknowledge that,” he told lawmakers. “But let me be clear. In Minnesota, if you defraud public programs, if you steal taxpayer money, we’ll find you, we’ll prosecute you, we’ll convict you, and we’ll throw you in jail.”

MIKE DAVIS: The unsung, but crucial foot soldiers in Trump’s war on fraud

In proclaiming a “golden age of America” in his State of the Union address, President Trump correctly focused on his initiatives to fix the problems perpetrated by the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations that undermine the physical and economic security of the United States. One of those initiatives is Trump’s war on fraud, which, according to the president, is intended to root out and remedy the “corruption that shreds the fabric” of our nation.

Under the leadership of Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Colin McDonald, Trump’s nominee for the newly created federal post of assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Trump’s war will be waged aggressively. As the president put it, “We are not playing games.”

But to win the war against fraud, the Trump administration must force the uniparty institutionalists at the Justice Department to change course and protect a key ally in the war on fraud: whistleblowers. Despite being treated as pariahs for decades by the Justice Department’s elitist careerists, whistleblowers are instrumental in enabling the recovery of taxpayer dollars from entities that defraud the government. Whistleblowers play a critical role under the False Claims Act, which has been used to recover $85 billion in taxpayer dollars since 1986. Just last year, the government recovered more than $6.8 billion under the False Claims Act – the highest single-year recovery in its history.

Unfortunately, parts of the Justice Department have not gotten Trump’s memo. This is particularly true of the career attorneys in the DOJ’s Civil Division, which is given investigatory and litigation responsibilities under the False Claims Act.

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The Civil Division maintains policies that undermine Trump’s war on fraud. How? Those policies undermine whistleblowers — the foot soldiers in the trenches — who uncover and litigate fraud claims on behalf of the Justice Department. The Civil Division maintains it has the unfettered discretion to dismiss any anti-fraud lawsuit brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act merely by deciding the lawsuit will not vindicate the government’s interest — whatever that means. The Civil Division maintains it can make this decision without evidentiary support and without regard to the underlying facts. That’s hard to reconcile with the Supreme Court’s 2023 8-1 decision in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., Inc., which held that the Justice Department does not enjoy such unfettered dismissal discretion.

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More problematically, the Civil Division’s continuation of the Bush, Obama and Biden anti-whistleblower policy undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud. Indeed, despite years of hard work and a lot of money invested by whistleblowers, the Civil Division maintains it can pull out the rug from under whistleblowers at any time, for any reason, or no reason. This arbitrary Civil Division policy makes it much less likely whistleblowers will enlist in Trump’s war on fraud.

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Targets of fraud enforcement by the Trump administration properly include Somalian day care centers, university DEI programs and other examples of corruption actively promoted by Democrats. A whistleblower exposing such fraudulent and illegal activities does so at considerable personal risk. But what whistleblower would knowingly take this risk if her action under the False Claims Act were subject to Civil Division policy it could dismiss any lawsuit, at any time, for any reason or no reason?

Americans have learned the hard way that we have magnitudes more fraud than federal prosecutors and agents to root it out, so the Justice Department’s support of whistleblowers is more critical than ever. A successful war against fraud requires alignment across the government. Vance acknowledged as much, noting in a recent Fox News interview that his efforts will include a “full, whole government approach” to investigating fraud concerns. But this approach necessitates that the Civil Division change its policies to support, rather than undermine, a critical ally in Trump’s war on fraud: whistleblowers.

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Minnesota GOP lawmaker urges Congress to press Walz at fraud hearing: ‘Real issues to deal with’

As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are set to testify before Congress on Wednesday morning, a Republican Minnesota lawmaker spoke to Fox News Digital about what they should be asked and what needs to happen next to get to the bottom of the problem. 

“I’m hoping they’re asked directly, ‘Governor Walz, why haven’t you taken the corrective actions, and why haven’t you brought your people back? Does that have an impact? Why have you not done that?'” state Sen. Mark Koran said about Walz’s upcoming testimony, pointing to the large remote work force that likely contributed to the lack of oversight in the scandal that prosecutors say could cost taxpayers $9 billion or more. 

“Because he knows — they need to position that question to him because he knows he can’t continue to pander and do what’s right, right? He just can’t.”

Ellison’s testimony is likely to include questions from members of Congress about a 2021 audio recording of him meeting with members of the Somali community who would soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

WALZ JUMPS INTO THE IRAN STRIKE DEBATE AND GETS DOGPILED FROM BOTH SIDES

According to Koran, Ellison has “real issues to deal with” during his testimony on that issue and suggested the recording shows he was offering to “protect” the eventual fraudsters. 

“You know who the clients are of Attorney General Keith Ellison?” Koran said. “All the state agencies. So their attorney is going to go work against what’s right from a statutory requirement to stop them from performing their job? If they were even going to do their job?”

Although Walz announced early this year that he would drop his bid for a third term amid mounting criticism of the fraud scandal, he is still serving as governor, which many of his detractors have said doesn’t show true accountability.

Koran agrees with those who have called on Walz to resign, saying that he would if he had “any morals” but “he won’t,” and pointed out that even if Republicans had the super majority needed to impeach Walz, his spot would be taken by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who Koran called “far more radical.”

KLOBUCHAR LAUNCHES MINNESOTA GOVERNOR BID AFTER WALZ ENDS RE-ELECTION RUN AMID MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL

New findings have continued to trickle out as investigations into the fraud become more prevalent, including a state audit conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor released in January that found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program.

The 2026 regular session of the Minnesota Legislature officially kicked off on Feb. 17, and Koran outlined what Republicans will be focused on in order to reign in the fraud concerns.

“The game plan is really to put pressure on all of them. There are things we could start to do today. We truly do have an interest to do that,” Koran said. “You know, we’ve seen what’s hit the headlines; an independent inspector general probably could put together the best plan for that. That doesn’t solve today’s problems, right? That doesn’t solve it. We’ve got to solve it on the front end.”

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Instead, Koran says the top priority should be a professional services contract with an independent entity “to do eligibility determination” and “use the best of all data available to ensure those eligible receive benefits.” But, he argued, Democrats have “been resistant to do any of that.”

Speaking about why he thinks the fraud scandal was able to reach the level that it did, Koran said, “I think there’s some incompetency. They’re certainly willfully complicit.”

He continued, “But I think the third element today that is bigger than ever is, our state government is as ineffective in delivering for the citizens of Minnesota than we’ve ever been in the history of government.”

Walz and Ellison will testify at a hearing “Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II” on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. EST.

“Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz’s and Attorney General Ellison’s watch. The House Oversight Committee recently heard sworn testimony from Minnesota state lawmakers who stated that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act to stop this widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns,” House Oversight Chair James Comer said in a press release.

Comer to say Tim Walz ‘enabled fraud,’ failed whistleblowers in bombshell Minnesota hearing

House Oversight Committee Republicans are readying to confront Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison at a high-stakes hearing on welfare fraud Wednesday morning.

“While Governor Walz hesitated, taxpayers lost billions. Attorney General Ellison has likewise claimed his office was aggressively holding fraudsters accountable, but when his statements were tested against the record, they fell apart,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will say, according to prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.

“We have spoken with over thirty whistleblowers, many of them current employees and Democrats, who say they were ignored, retaliated against, and even surveilled for raising concerns. Instead of protecting the whistleblowers, the Walz administration protected the system that enabled fraud.”

Hours before the hearing kicked off, the committee released a 53-page report that accused both Walz and Ellison of knowing about the fraud allegations far earlier than previously thought.

MINNESOTA FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS ‘LACK OF GUARDRAILS WAS PRETTY SHOCKING’

“While the Committee continues to review documents and meet with whistleblowers, it is evident that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison knew about the fraud in federal programs administered by the State of Minnesota much earlier than they told the American people,” the report said.

“Transcribed interviews with current and former public officials from the State of Minnesota have confirmed that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison would have been aware of fraud in the [Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)] and high-risk Medicaid programs administered by DHS as early as spring 2019 and fraud in [state food aid] programs administered by [the Minnesota Department of Education] as early as April 2020.”

Both Walz and Ellison previously pushed back on any accusations that they knowingly allowed fraud in Minnesota’s social programs and have accused Republicans of politicizing the situation.

TREASURY SECRETARY ANNOUNCES CASH REWARDS FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWERS

The high-profile hearing is the culmination of a monthslong probe by the House Oversight Committee targeting allegations of fraud in Minnesota.

The panel previously interviewed current and former officials within the state’s government, including those focused on food aid. 

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future. However, the probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud. Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.

WALZ SLAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR TEMPORARILY HALTING MEDICAID FUNDING TO MINNESOTA: ‘CAMPAIGN OF RETRIBUTION’

And the committee’s report accused the state’s progressive leadership of ignoring evidence of fraud in a bid to appease the Somali community in Minneapolis.

“The Committee has found that Minnesota lacked adequate oversight efforts to verify that taxpayer dollars were being used appropriately and could have stopped the flow of money to fraudsters at any time but chose not to for fear of political retribution from the politically active Somali community,” the report said.

“Further legislative efforts at the federal level are necessary to prevent this massive waste, fraud, and abuse of federal dollars from ever happening again.”

In his opening statement, Comer will call the scandal “one of the most extensive breakdowns of oversight this Committee has ever examined.”

“Billions of taxpayer dollars were stolen from social services programs while warnings piled up, whistleblowers spoke out, and state officials chose delay and denial over action,” he will say. 

“Federal prosecutors estimate that as much as $9 billion may have been stolen from just fourteen Medicaid programs administered by the State of Minnesota. As our investigation has shown, it happened because state leadership failed, repeatedly, to intervene. What we’ve uncovered in Minnesota is not a paperwork error or a few bad actors slipping through the cracks. It is a sustained failure of leadership.”

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Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee have accused Comer of trying to distract from the fallout of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis — including the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.

“I encourage folks to watch those videos and see what’s happened for themselves. And I’m hopeful that this committee investigates this incident and that we have full accountability,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said during a previous hearing on Minnesota fraud.

Fraud-plagued Minnesota sues Trump admin for withholding $243M in Medicaid payments

Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration, accusing federal health officials of illegally withholding $243 million in Medicaid payments from the state.

Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Minnesota Department of Human Services sued the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), arguing the funding freeze violates federal law.

The state is seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately block the action.

The dispute stems from a January notice in which the Trump administration said it would withhold more than $2 billion annually from Minnesota’s Medicaid program over what it described as “noncompliance” with federal regulations, specifically, alleged failures to “adequately identify, prevent, and address fraud in its Medicaid program.”

USDA IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION

State officials say they have not been told specifically how Minnesota is out of compliance or what changes the administration wants to see.

The lawsuit follows a Feb. 25 announcement from CMS that it was deferring roughly $260 million in quarterly federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota, including about $243 million tied to “unsupported or potentially fraudulent” claims. 

CMS said the deferral is part of a broader fraud crackdown and cited unusually high spending and rapid growth in personal care services, home- and community-based services, and other practitioner services.

HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

“For decades, Medicare fraud has drained billions from American taxpayers — that ends now,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “We are replacing the old ‘pay and chase’ model with a real-time ‘detect and deploy’ strategy, using advanced AI tools to identify fraud instantly and stop improper payments before they go out the door.”

Minnesota officials contend the move improperly uses a funding “deferral” mechanism and amounts to denying the state due process before any formal finding of noncompliance.

WALZ SLAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR TEMPORARILY HALTING MEDICAID FUNDING TO MINNESOTA: ‘CAMPAIGN OF RETRIBUTION’

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The threatened cuts represent about 7% of Minnesota’s quarterly Medicaid funding and could force reductions in healthcare services for low-income residents, according to Ellison’s office.

“Trump’s M.O. is to cut first, no matter what the law says or who gets hurt, and ask questions later, if at all,” the attorney general said. “These cuts are the latest in a long series of efforts to go around the law to punish Minnesotans — but just as we fought back and won when they illegally tried to cut funding for childcare, hungry families and our schools, we are suing them again today to make them follow the law.”

Walz jumps into the Iran strike debate and gets dogpiled from both sides

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joined the chorus of Democrats criticizing the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran, leading to brutal mockery on social media, including from those on the left.

Walz has been one of the most visible state leaders and Trump critics of the past year, as Minnesota became embroiled in a Somali-linked childcare fraud problem that metastasized to other sectors, while repeatedly condemning the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement efforts in his state.

As missiles rained down on Iranian targets and took out 86-year-old theocratic dictator Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Walz posted his objection to X: “No new wars.”

JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS OPPOSED TO IRAN STRIKES, BACKS TRUMP’S DECISION TO ACT

That missive set off a whirlwind of blowback, including innumerable memes targeting the controversial Democrat and 2024 vice presidential nominee.

Comedian Michael Rapaport, who has been vocal against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani but is known for his anti-Trump commentary, slammed Walz by retweeting a response to the governor from an Israeli diplomat.

“Iran started this war 47 years ago when they took Americans hostage Honestly, can people to crack open a book before posting nonsense?” wrote Aviva Klompas, whose bio includes time at the Israeli mission to the United Nations.

FETTERMAN BLASTS IRAN STRIKE CRITICS, AYATOLLAH’S APOLOGISTS: ‘LET’S SEE WHO GRIEVES FOR THAT GARBAGE’

Rapaport went on to take issue with critics of the Iranian strikes and condemned those who remained silent as Khamenei oversaw mass-murders of tens of thousands of dissidents in recent months.

“I’m glad that old bag of s— and his entire regime are gone,” he said of Khamenei. “Ding dong that old bag of s— is dead. 72 virgins have got to deal with that bull— now; good luck ladies,” he added in a message on Monday.

“Will this affect your Somali kickbacks?” asked Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., a top pro-Israel voice in Congress.

“Didn’t you just try to start a war with Trump a month ago?” another response from conservative videographer Cam Higby – who has tweeted videos of his stringer-type visits to Minneapolis unrest.

“No kings,” another critic retorted, as the left has latched onto the idea that President Donald Trump is a monarch.

“Just be thankful this is changing the headlines from the Somali fraud in Minnesota,” said another.

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Others criticized alleged hypocrisy involving Walz’ prior meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his tweet at the time that “Minnesota stands with the people of Ukraine as they fight to defend freedom and democracy.”

Late Monday, reports surfaced that Khamenei’s wife Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh succumbed to her injuries from the missile strike that killed her husband.

Report exposes billions in uncovered fraud, waste as watchdog coalition offers support to Trump’s crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: As the Trump administration appoints Vice President JD Vance to lead a nationwide “War on Fraud,” a coalition of conservative state financial officers says it has already uncovered and stopped billions in taxpayer waste and is pledging to partner with the White House to root out corruption nationwide.

In a Thursday letter to the White House, the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) praised President Donald Trump’s focus on what he called fraud scandals that have “resulted in tens of billions of dollars being stolen from American taxpayers,” writing that such corruption “shreds the fabric of a nation” 

SFOF CEO OJ Oleka told Vance that the group’s 40 conservative state treasurers, auditors and comptrollers across 28 states stand ready to support the administration’s anti-fraud mission, noting they collectively oversee more than $3 trillion in state funds.

The letter accompanied SFOF’s inaugural 2025 Oversight Report, which claims that affiliated state financial officers safeguarded more than $28 billion of waste, fraud, and abuse in 2025 alone.

JD VANCE SPEARHEADS ‘WAR ON FRAUD,’ PROMISES TO ROOT OUT TAXPAYER MONEY ‘STOLEN’ BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The report highlights some of the most egregious examples within that $28 billion, including in Florida, where Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia found just under $2 billion in excessive spending, and in Kentucky, where Auditor Allison Ball found more than $836 million in improper Medicaid payments.

Medicaid fraud has been of particular interest to the Trump administration given the massive fraud scandal that has unfolded in Minnesota and Vance said on Wednesday the administration has “decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.”

HEAVILY REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

The report also highlights North Carolina, where it says State Auditor Dave Boliek discovered more than $1 billion in lapsed salaries from long-term vacancies in the state. Additionally, Utah auditor Tina Cannon identified more than $518 million in fraud, waste and abuse across agencies and nonprofits receiving state and federal funds.

In his letter, Oleka told Vance that SFOF’s members are “allies already on the battlefield” and stand ready to assist the administration in protecting taxpayer dollars.

“The American people deserve nothing less,” he wrote.

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SFOF argues that state-level financial watchdogs, often elected independently of governors and legislatures, are uniquely positioned to expose mismanagement and enforce fiscal discipline.

With billions already identified at the state level, the group says a coordinated federal-state approach could dramatically expand the scope of fraud detection nationwide, potentially reshaping how taxpayer dollars are safeguarded across the country.

“By working together, we can protect our nation’s treasure to the fullest extent against every foe and every plot to endanger it,” Oleka wrote.

Walz slams Trump admin for temporarily halting Medicaid funding to Minnesota: ‘Campaign of retribution’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accused the Trump administration of unleashing a “campaign of retribution” against his state after Vice President JD Vance announced a temporary pause in Medicaid funding there. 

Vance’s announcement was made after President Donald Trump railed against fraud in Minnesota on Tuesday evening in his State of the Union address. 

Vance said Wednesday that he is giving Walz 60 days to clean up how the state doles out funding, adding, “We are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.” 

“This is a campaign of retribution. Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota,” Walz, a Democrat, wrote in response on X. “These cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state.”

MINNESOTA REMAINS FRONT LINE IN VANCE’S ‘WAR ON FRAUD’; WALZ GIVEN 60 DAYS ‘TO CLEAN UP THE SYSTEMS’

“This has nothing to do with fraud. The agents Trump allegedly sent to investigate fraud are shooting protesters and arresting children,” Walz added. “His DOJ is gutting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and crippling their ability to prosecute fraud. And every week Trump pardons another fraudster.” 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

The administration and Congress have zeroed in on rampant abuse of federal taxpayers’ funds since December 2025, when details of Minnesota’s fraud relating to social and welfare programs stretching back to the COVID-19 pandemic first came into the national spotlight. Investigators have since estimated the Minnesota scheme could top $9 billion.   

HEAVILY REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Wednesday that the pause marks “the largest action against fraud that we’ve ever taken” at the federal agency, before launching into how the administration is deferring funds to the state.

“It’s going to be $259 million of deferred payments for Medicaid to Minnesota, which we’re announcing, as I speak, to Gov. Walz and his team,” Oz said. “That’s based on an audit of the last three months of 2025. Restated, a quarter billion dollars is not going to be paid this month to Minnesota for its Medicaid claims.”

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“We have notified the state and said that we will give them the money, but we’re going to hold it and only release it after they propose and act on a comprehensive corrective action plan to solve the problem,” Oz also said. “If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year.” 

Trump’s fraud czar nominee touts Minnesota blueprint to root out Obamacare fraud, senior scams

The crackdown on fraud in Minnesota will serve as a blueprint for a new Department of Justice office focused on protecting taxpayer funds from scams, President Donald Trump‘s pick to serve as the nation’s “fraud czar” explained in his nomination hearing Wednesday. 

“The work in Minnesota has been pivotal. The work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office there, and the personnel there, has been pivotal to highlighting the problems of fraud that permeate our taxpayer funded programs,” nominee to serve as assistant attorney general for a new Justice Department division tasked with rooting out fraud, Colin McDonald, said Wednesday. 

“That sort of effort … is what the National Fraud Enforcement Division will be looking to do and scale to an extent that we’ve not seen before within the Department of Justice,” he continued. 

Trump tapped McDonald as the nominee in January, just days after establishing the Department of Justice’s new division for national fraud enforcement that will “investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government,” according to the White House. The new office follows a sweeping Minnesota fraud scandal, where hundreds of millions of dollars was allegedly swindled from taxpayers through welfare and social services programs.

DOGE’S MEDICAID DATA DUMP AIMS TO EXPOSE FRAUD — BUT PRIVACY AND LEGAL HURDLES LOOM

“I will be working with the inspectors general community,” McDonald continued. “With our federal agencies and federal partners, with our state and local partners to ensure that we find the fraud where it’s occurring and that we have the resources to prosecute it, to investigate it and prosecute it, and ultimately ensure that the fraud that we’re seeing annually, perpetrated against these programs comes to an end.”

McDonald appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, where lawmakers grilled the nominee about the new office, how it will operate and if it will operate independently of the White House. 

Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday evening and announced Vice President JD Vance will lead the administration’s “war on fraud.” 

McDonald explained that his office will work to tackle all fraud bleeding taxpayers, citing Government Accountability Office data that estimates between $320 billion to $520 billion in taxpayer funds is lost to fraud on an annual basis. 

“My commitment is to work tirelessly to build a division, a national fraud enforcement division, where no fraud is too big for the Department of Justice, and no fraud is too small for the Department of Justice,” he continued. 

At the top of lawmakers’ minds were fraud concerns surrounding Obamacare and senior citizens. 

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn cited that the Government Accountability Office could not reconcile over $21 billion in Obamacare marketplace subsidies in tax year 2023 during his questioning of McDonald. 

HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

“I commit to working tirelessly to root out the sort of fraud that you’ve identified there, and to make sure that every single dollar that’s supposed to go to these programs actually goes to the programs, to the beneficiaries, the intended beneficiaries of these programs, and not to fraudsters. That is my commitment,” McDonald told Cornyn during the hearing regarding potential fraud surrounding Affordable Care Act subsidies. 

Scams targeting the elderly also took the spotlight throughout the hearing. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed McDonald on his efforts to protect seniors from scams, noting that America’s seniors lose $28 billion annually to financial schemes. 

The fraud czar nominee pledged that the DOJ would work to protect seniors from the increasingly high-tech scams, which often include using artificial intelligence to confuse and swindle people, noting that the fraud affects entire families. 

“It’s not just the grandmothers and the grandfathers, it’s also their family members who bear the weight of these scams and the fraud that’s perpetrated against them,” he said. “My grandmother, one of them, turns 89 years old in two days. And she has seen these … sorts of efforts toward her. And it’s a major issue that the Department of Justice is focused on, and we will be using all available tools to ensure that we combat that problem.”

The massive Minnesota fraud case has reverberated across the nation, with federal Republican lawmakers reinvigorating calls to tighten and monitor the release of taxpayer funds to various programs, most notably social and welfare offices. 

DR OZ DETAILS ‘WEAPONIZATION OF FRAUD’ IN MINNESOTA, ESTIMATES TOTAL MEDICAID FRAUD TO BE $100 BILLION

Trump spotlighted the fraud in his State of the Union address Tuesday, claiming the scams are even worse in states such as California, Massachusetts and Maine.

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering — it really, it’s plundering America — there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. Oh, we have all the information,” Trump said Tuesday. 

“And in actuality, the number is much higher than that, and California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” he continued, before naming Vance as the administration leader taking on fraud. 

The White House referred Fox Digital to Trump’s State of the Union comments and McDonald’s testimony when approached for additional comment on the federal fraud crackdown efforts. 

FEDERAL WELFARE SPENDING IS A FRAUD MAGNET — AND TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE PRICE

Vance joined Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” Wednesday, and said his efforts will include a “full, whole government approach” to investigating fraud concerns, and enlisting the Justice and Treasury Departments to lead probe on fiscal records. 

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“There’s a whole host of tools that we have that have never been used, and the president and I talked about this a couple of months ago and said, ‘What if we just did everything that we could to stop the fraud that’s being committed against the American taxpayer?’ The president said, ‘Great idea, let’s do it,’ and we’re going to work on that very aggressively over the next year,” Vance said. 

Legal experts react to Trump’s SCOTUS clash tariff pivot in fiery SOTU

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address prompted a range of responses from legal experts and outside observers, who used the moment to seize on the broader U.S. legal and political climate itself — including pivotal Supreme Court rulings, violent crime and Trump’s push for election security ahead of the November midterm elections.

That divide extended beyond Trump’s rhetoric and into the real-time legal battles shaping his second term, including a major Supreme Court ruling that undercut one of the administration’s cornerstone economic policies.

REACTIONS, UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S RECORD-BREAKING 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Trump “doubled down on the most unpopular elements of his agenda, including tariffs and tough immigration enforcement tactics that most Americans oppose,” senior Brookings Institution public policy think tank fellows William Galston and Elaine Kamarck said of Trump’s remarks. “This was a speech to rally his base rather than reach out to swing voters, continuing the dominant political strategy of the past year.” 

Others disagreed. Gene Hamilton, former deputy White House counsel and the president of conservative legal organization America First Legal, told Fox News Digital Tuesday night that Trump delivered a “resounding speech” and “could not have been more clear about the current state of our great nation.” 

“A vision of hope, prosperity, and strength, driven by strong borders, a strong economy, and a love of country,” Hamilton said. 

Tariff ruling 

Both Trump and State of the Union commentators pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday that invalidated the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to unilaterally enact tariffs on most U.S. trading partners — effectively delivering a death knell to an economic policy Trump had described as economic “life or death.” 

Trump lamented the decision during his address, calling the court’s 6–3 ruling “unfortunate,” even as he noted he has since invoked other laws to ensure his import duties remain in place. 

“It’s saving the country, the kind of money we’re taking in,” Trump said Tuesday, reiterating his use of laws other than IEEPA that he has at his disposal to bypass Congress and ensure the tariffs remain in force. 

Four of the nine Supreme Court justices attended the State of the Union — including Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who had ruled against Trump’s use of IEEPA to unilaterally enact his tariffs. 

But some legal experts disagreed with the court, arguing that the ruling overstepped and infringed on Trump’s executive powers. 

“When the Supreme Court has a close call deciding the president’s foreign-policy powers under a statute, the Court should err on the side of any president and his substantial Article II powers,” Mike Davis, the founder and president of the Article III Project, told Fox News Digital. 

“The three Democrat justices will almost always side with Democrat presidents and against Republican presidents,” Davis added. “Those three partisan actors never let themselves get played.”

Trump’s tariff comments marked a shift from his more abrasive tone in the immediate aftermath of the tariff decision, when he said the high court was “incompetent” and that the majority should be “absolutely ashamed” of themselves “for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.”

SUPREME COURT BLOCKS TRUMP TARIFFS IN MAJOR TEST OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH POWERS

Election security 

Another key focus of Trump’s speech was election security. 

Trump urged the Senate to approve the “SAVE America Act,” or legislation passed by the House that requires voters to show proof of citizenship, and a photo ID, when registering to vote. Trump said the legislation would “stop illegal aliens and others, who are unpermitted persons, from voting in our sacred American elections.”

“All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote,” Trump said. “And no more crooked mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military or travel. None.” 

“Trump is right to call for voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote; and absentee ballots should be limited to the disabled, the sick, & those who can’t vote in person on Election Day or ANYTIME DURING EARLY VOTING!” said Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Americans Advancing Freedom and former FEC member appointed by former President George W. Bush.

Other voting rights advocates argued that the SAVE Act would disproportionately harm rural voters and low-income voters, among others.

“The SAVE Act is an attack on the freedom to vote that would block millions of American citizens from voting,” Sean Morales-Doyle, the director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the left-leaning Brennan Center, said on social media. 

TRUMP TAKES DIRECT SOTU SWIPE AT DEMOCRATS OVER TAXES: ‘TO HURT THE PEOPLE’

Violent crime 

Trump also used his Tuesday remarks to tout the significant drop-off in violent crime during his first year back in the White House, reiterating his administration’s claim that the U.S. murder rate dropped to its lowest point in 125 years in 2025. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously pointed Fox News Digital and other outlets to recent data from the Council on Criminal Justice that she said shows that Trump is “delivering overwhelmingly on his promise” to restore law and order in the U.S.

“A study from the Council on Criminal Justice shows that the murder rate across America’s largest cities plummeted in 2025 to its lowest level since at least 1900,” Leavitt told reporters. “Let me repeat to put this in perspective, this marks the largest single-year drop in murders in recorded history.” 

Nationwide homicide data released later in 2026 could show killings in 2025 falling to roughly 4.0 per 100,000 residents — the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data dating back to 1900 and the largest single-year percentage drop on record.

Reactions to the speech — and Trump’s policies — vary, but the president did win some praise from many.

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“Donald Trump saved this country with his election in 2024,” Hamilton said. “His administration will keep working every day to deliver real wins for the American people.”

DOGE’s Medicaid data dump aims to expose fraud — but privacy and legal hurdles loom

The Department of Government Efficiency’s release of years of anonymous, open-source Medicaid data was hailed by former DOGE chief Elon Musk as a transparency win that will make fraud “easy to find.” But turning internet sleuthing into prosecutions could prove far harder for the Justice Department— and legally messy.

Prosecutors and privacy experts warn the leap from anonymous tips to a courtroom case runs through three choke points: patient privacy, proof standards and the uneven quality of state-reported Medicaid data.

The DOGE data will include aggregate-level information about providers, claims and other general information, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Senior Trump administration officials have stressed that any information released will be done in accordance with federal privacy laws, in order to avoid identifying individuals or sharing private medical information. 

The release comes as the Justice Department ramps up healthcare fraud enforcement, particularly targeting schemes involving Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded programs. Its healthcare fraud “strike force” now operates across 25 federal districts and has brought charges against roughly 5,000 individuals, according to information shared with Fox News Digital.

FLORIDA EXECS SENTENCED IN $233M OBAMACARE FRAUD THAT TARGETED HOMELESS, HURRICANE VICTIMS

But before the Justice Department can chase down new leads, it may have to sort through mountains of flawed data.

Information shared by DOGE in its early days may be imperfect due to its reliance on state data submitted through the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System, or T-MSIS — a system that has struggled with data quality and reporting issues that vary widely from state to state. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is actively working to improve state compliance.

There are open questions as to how the federal government might seek to retroactively “claw back” Medicaid reimbursements from states, in the event fraud is detected.

Others have cautioned that investigations could be hindered by new or thorny legal challenges — including privacy concerns, statute of limitations questions and evidentiary hurdles.

The emphasis on healthcare fraud reflects a broader enforcement priority for Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who built her prosecutorial profile in Florida cracking down on opioids, drug trafficking and so-called “pill mills.”

That enforcement posture has translated into expanded resources for federal prosecutors, particularly within the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit. Formed in 2007, the unit has grown in scope and funding in recent years as officials confront increasingly complex and large-scale fraud schemes.

The unit benefited from the creation of its data analytics team in 2017 and the newly announced healthcare fraud data “fusion center” late last year. The center draws on DOJ’s criminal and fraud divisions, the FBI and outside agencies, including HHS-OIG, to leverage cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other analytics tools to more quickly identify and prosecute sweeping healthcare fraud in the public and private sectors, at a rate and scope that would have been unimaginable just years ago.

A Justice Department official with knowledge of the unit’s operations told Fox News Digital that the effort allows prosecutors to identify so-called “outlier” providers earlier.

“It’s an area of work that’s not only reactive prosecutions — but proactive prosecutions, using data analytics,” this person said. 

The new data analytics have been crucial to helping DOJ develop and prosecute widespread instances of healthcare fraud cases, as well as major prescription drug cases.   

One official pointed to the recent conviction of a California telehealth company founder and CEO who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing and distributing roughly 40 million Adderall pills, a Schedule II controlled substance, over the internet using false and fraudulent information.

The tools the Justice Department used in that case were critical in quickly identifying the $100 million scheme.

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The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit announced the largest-ever national healthcare fraud takedown in its history in 2025, securing an estimated $15 billion in losses and forfeitures and returning a record $560 million to the public.

Heavily redacted audit finds Minnesota Medicaid had widespread vulnerabilities

A state-commissioned review of Minnesota’s Medicaid program uncovered sweeping financial vulnerabilities across 14 high-risk service areas, finding systemic weaknesses that allowed questionable billing to go undetected and estimating that clearer policies and stronger prepayment safeguards could save taxpayers more than $1 billion.

A vulnerability assessment by Optum State Government Solutions analyzed nearly four years of claims data, identifying widespread financial risks and specific weaknesses in 14 high-risk service areas, including housing stabilization and personal care assistance.

While more than a dozen high-risk areas were identified, the actual descriptions of the vulnerabilities found within each program are redacted, along with references to “recurring vulnerabilities” that appeared across nearly all services.

GOP SENATORS LAUNCH TASK FORCE TO CRACK DOWN ON FRAUD TIED TO MINNESOTA SCANDAL

The high-risk service and program areas identified, in order of priority, are:

1. Housing Stabilization Services (HSS)

2. Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS)

3. Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI)

4. Integrated Community Supports (ICS) (Home and Community Based Service)

5. Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)

6. Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS)

GOP SENATOR PUSHES TO CREATE ANTI-FRAUD SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD REVELATIONS

7. Personal Care Assistance (PCA)/Community First Services and Supports (CFSS)

8. Adult Day Services (ADS)

9. Recuperative Care (RS)

10. Individualized Home Supports (IHS) (covers services without training, with training, and with family training)

11. Adult Companion Care (ACC)

12. Night Supervision (NS)

13. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)

14. Intensive Residential Treatment Service (IRTS)

The report also withholds specific “tactical issues” and methods related to how claims are adjudicated and audited.

A notice at the beginning of the document states it contains “trade secret information,” which seemingly covers Optum’s proprietary analytic models and fraud-detection methods.

State Rep. Steve Elkins, DFL-Bloomington, told The Minnesota Star Tribune he was disappointed by the redactions.

“They’re identifying, in the parts that you can read, that there are a combination of technical issues and policy issues,” Elkins told the outlet. “So, if a lot of it is policy-related, there’s probably things in state law that need to be corrected.”

DR OZ DETAILS ‘WEAPONIZATION OF FRAUD’ IN MINNESOTA, ESTIMATES TOTAL MEDICAID FRAUD TO BE $100 BILLION

Despite the redactions, the report outlines a roadmap for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to recover improper payments and modernize its fraud detection infrastructure. 

While state officials said they are reviewing the findings, some lawmakers, including State Rep. Patti Anderson, R-Dellwood, said the guidance is unclear.

“It’s frustrating that the Walz administration redacted almost the entire report,” Anderson told the Minnesota Star. “It makes you wonder what they’re hiding. … We’re all frustrated. Unfortunately, it’s not a surprise.”

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The report comes a month after the Trump administration announced it will start auditing Minnesota Medicaid receipts and defer payments to the 14 high-risk programs.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz told Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz that CMS will begin reviewing the state’s quarterly Medicaid spending reports and defer funding based on findings of fraud, waste and abuse. 

Optum did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the redactions.

Minnesota Democrats demand reparations from ICE after losing $18 billion to Somali fraud

Top Minnesota Democrats are demanding the federal government “pay for what they broke” following weeks of DHS’ immigration enforcement surge — a demand that comes after fraudsters stole as much as $18 billion from taxpayers who funded the state’s social services programs under their watch.

Embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey both made public overtures to the feds for reimbursement for usage of state and city resources and recouping of other alleged damages.

“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state,” Walz recently said.

NOEM HAMMERS WALZ, FREY FOR IGNORING 1,360 ICE DETAINERS FOR CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS

“The federal government needs to be responsible. You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,” he said, adding that he will be asking Minnesota’s congressional delegation to be “doing the things necessary” — apparently for reimbursement claims.

Frey estimated economic and financial costs to his city to top $203 million, telling Minnesota Public Radio he would like to see the state and federal governments help pay.

“I’m not naive to think that we’re going to get the entire amount,” Frey said, adding that about 76,000 Minneapolis residents require relief in some form or another.

Minneapolis estimated $47 million in lost wages for people “afraid to leave home” for work, $81 million in small business revenue losses and $4.7 million from hotel cancellations, according to the outlet.

The likelihood of federal reimbursement appeared grim after White House Border Czar Tom Homan appeared on “Fox & Friends.”

“A lot of things were broken, but it wasn’t because of Trump administration,” Homan said Sunday.

CONGRESS OPENS ‘INDUSTRIAL-SCALE FRAUD’ PROBE IN MINNESOTA, WARNS WALZ DEMANDS ARE ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’

Homan questioned whether Walz spoke out similarly against the “broken” southern border during the tenure of his former running mate, Kamala Harris.

“Did Governor Walz speak out against that — with the overdose deaths and sex trafficking and terrorists? No.”

Further, Walz’s administration remains under national scrutiny for as much as $18 billion in social services fraud, with a large portion reportedly stemming from members of the Somali immigrant community.

DHS DEMANDS MN LEADERS HONOR ICE DETAINERS, ALLEGES HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN RELEASED UNDER WALZ

Millions of dollars flowed out of Minnesota to Mogadishu and other places, potentially into the hands of African terror group Al Shabaab, according to multiple reports.

David Hoch, a Minnesota journalist who traveled to various alleged fraudulent childcares, testified to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a recent hearing that the cost to taxpayers could be “easily in excess of $30 billion when you take everything into account.”

Some of the state programs defrauded get part or all of their funds for disbursement from federal coffers, meaning taxpayers nationwide contributed to the pot defrauded in Minnesota.

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Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell recently said on social media that Walz was “either grossly negligent, incompetent or complicit with the fraud.”

Walz has since stated he will not seek a third term in St. Paul.

Dr Oz details ‘weaponization of fraud’ in Minnesota, estimates total Medicaid fraud to be $100 billion

FIRST ON FOX: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz detailed Tuesday what he described as the “weaponization of fraud” in Minnesota, estimating that Medicaid fraud nationwide totals roughly “$100 billion.”

Appearing on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Oz was asked by host Katie Miller what the “most shocking thing” he saw taking place in Minnesota was during his investigation into the alleged widespread fraud in the state.

“The weaponization of fraud,” he responded. “When you’re elected to office, there’s some rules that you’re obliged to follow, but there’s always the opportunity for political patronage.”

FEDERAL WELFARE SPENDING IS A FRAUD MAGNET — AND TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE PRICE

The former host of the “Dr. Oz Show” explained how “doing favors for people” can provide lucrative opportunities for those working in state health departments in ways that are “not always transparent to the voter.” He said that under federal law, once someone is signed up for Medicaid, they must also be offered a “voter ID.”

“So it’s basically a voter enrichment and enrollment process and in Minnesota, I really think, having been there, interviewed folks who work in their Department of Health and Human Services — that there was an almost purposeful desire not to look carefully, and it wasn’t just in Minnesota, it was in Washington,” he detailed. “The program that we have that audits Medicaid was gutted.”

During his investigation, Oz found that there “wasn’t really a desire to focus on program integrity,” such as who should be on the insurance program and who should not. He added that this is happening due to the assumption by state administrators that the more people enrolled in the program, the better.

“The problem is, you should need to actually deserve to be on the program, because if you don’t deserve to be on the program, and you get all the benefits, you actually reduce our ability to help the people who deserve to be on the program,” he argued.

HAWLEY TARGETS MINNESOTA FRAUD, CCP-LINKED MONEY AT SENATE HEARING: ‘TAXPAYERS ROBBED BLIND’

Following up, Miller asked the CMS administrator to give an estimate of the total Medicaid fraud taking place across the country.

“$100 billion,” he replied. “That money should go back to making the Medicare trust fund solvent for many years, it should go back to providing adequate, high quality services for mental health conditions. It should allow us to take better care of people in rural parts of the country, underserved parts of the country, but we look at numbers now, like in Southern California where you have a seven-fold increase in hospice. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Oz estimated that around 30% of hospice services “in the entire country” occur in Southern California, and noted that he sent a letter to “our good friend” California Gov. Gavin Newsom concerning the “massive increase in home healthcare in California.” The CMS administrator added that “literally one in $10 spent in the entire country in home health care is in L.A. — not California, L.A.,” and that the appropriate number should be “a third of that.”

“I went after it because I know this is the same organized criminal efforts,” he said of the city’s unusually high home healthcare numbers. “By the way, these aren’t accidents. These are often foreign nationals. We’ve got Russians in California who fled back to Russia when they got indicted. We have Cuban-run strings, which we believe the Cuban government’s involved in with durable medical equipment. That’s the people who sell you wheelchairs and canes.”

The CMS administrator told Miller that there are “20 times more durable medical equipment providers in South Florida than McDonald’s,” calling the statistic “bizarre.”

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“You have to, again, almost not be looking,” he continued, adding that the scale of healthcare fraud taking place in the United States is “way beyond what you’d imagine.”

The full interview will be available Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Rumble and X.

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Top state officials like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have expressed skepticism about the size and scope of the fraud asserted by federal authorities, though Walz has said he has been working to crack down on the millions of dollars in fraud that have been detected.

Josh Hawley stands by accusations after fiery Senate hearing clash with Minnesota AG Ellison

Sen. Josh Hawley tore into Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison over fraud during a fiery exchange on Capitol Hill. Hawley accused Ellison of ignoring whistleblowers for years and argued he should be jailed over alleged bribery tied to the scheme.

The exchange took place during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, where Hawley brought up the Feeding Our Future scandal. The nonprofit falsely claimed to be feeding thousands of children during the COVID-19 pandemic, but little food was distributed.

The Justice Department has charged at least 78 people in the case. Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said the group received nearly $250 million in federal funds that were not used to help those in need.

“Two hundred and fifty million dollars was stolen,” Hawley said Thursday on “Hannity.”

YOUTUBER TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON MINNESOTA’S MASSIVE $9B FRAUD NETWORK INVESTIGATION

Hawley said Ellison met with people linked to the scheme who asked him to get investigators “off their backs.” He also alleged Ellison later received $10,000 in campaign donations linked to the group.

“Whistleblowers came to him, he didn’t do a thing,” Hawley said. “He didn’t do anything until the fraudsters came to him in his office, asked him to get the investigators off of their backs and promised him money. And then he swung into action and put his hand out. That’s what we call bribery.”

During the heated exchange Thursday, Ellison denied the accusations. He said Hawley mischaracterized the meeting and added that his office assisted investigators in a probe that led to convictions.

BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB

But Hawley doubled down, saying Ellison should be “indicted” and “go to jail.”

“Do you want to know why we have a corruption problem in this country? It’s people like Keith Ellison,” Hawley said.

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Ellison’s office published his opening statement, in which he said he hates fraud and that his office has been focused on “fighting it.” He added that the office has convicted 300 “Medicaid fraudsters” over the last seven years.

Minnesota has faced increased scrutiny from lawmakers over allegations of welfare fraud involving food assistance and childcare programs. In a Truth Social post last month, President Donald Trump claimed fraud in Minnesota is “far greater” than $19 billion.

Tim Walz demands federal government ‘pay for what they broke’ after Homan announces Minnesota drawdown

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is demanding the federal government “pay for what they broke” after the Trump administration announced it would draw down its immigration enforcement presence in the Twin Cities.

During a news conference after Border Czar Tom Homan’s announcement that the administration would be ending its Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Walz said federal law enforcement’s presence in the state was leaving “deep damage” and “generational trauma.”

“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here,” said Walz. “There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state. The federal government needs to be responsible. You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it.

“So, we’re going to be asking the federal delegation to be investing and doing the things necessary.”

TRUMP DHS HAMMERS DEM GOVERNOR’S PORTAL TO TRACK ICE AGENTS: ‘ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE’

Walz, best known for being former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election, has been at odds with the administration throughout much of the operation, which was meant to crack down on rampant fraud and abuse in the state.

Regarding the federal drawdown, Walz said, “We are cautiously optimistic … that this surge of untrained, aggressive federal agents are going to leave Minnesota, and I guess they’ll go wherever they’re going to go.

“The fact of the matter is they left us with deep damage, generational trauma. They left us with economic ruin in some cases. They left us with many unanswered questions: Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?

“So, while the federal government may move on to whatever next thing that they want to do, the State of Minnesota and our administration is unwaveringly focused on the recovery of what they did.”

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

Homan announced Thursday that the administration will conclude Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. Homan told reporters during a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal in Minneapolis that the operation succeeded in reducing public safety threats with “unprecedented levels of coordination” from state officials and local law enforcement.

“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said. “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.”

Homan said “a significant drawdown” of immigration agents was already underway and will continue through next week.

The border czar announced last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota, though 2,000 officers will remain. He cited improved cooperation with jails and said a complete drawdown was the goal, but it was “contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE.”

ICE ARRESTS MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES DURING SUPER BOWL WEEKEND AS AGENTS SAY HALFTIME SHOW ‘DEMONIZED’ THEM

He said only a “small footprint of personnel” will remain for a period of time, while he will also remain on the ground to oversee the operation’s drawdown and success.

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“Additionally, federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done,” Homan said.

Cruz targets Minnesota-style fraud with bill requiring proof before federal childcare payouts

EXCLUSIVE: A trio of Republican senators are moving to overhaul how federal childcare funds are distributed after what they call “mass fraud” in Minnesota exposed a system that paid providers before verifying children were ever in the room.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined by senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., is introducing the Payment Integrity Act, legislation that would require states to distribute federally funded childcare dollars based on verified attendance, not enrollment claims.

“Programs in Minnesota for welfare and childcare were designed to channel resources into protecting vulnerable children but were treated like an open ATM by criminals,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

“The mass fraud in Minnesota shows that American taxpayers can no longer rely on local and state politicians to prevent abuses because those politicians often have electoral and partisan incentives to look the other way. My legislation reduces the risk of the waste and fraud we’ve seen and ensures that resources are provided to children and families who need it.”

WALZ’S MINNESOTA MESS COULD SPARK THE TOUGHEST FRAUD REFORMS IN DECADES

The bill would reverse a 2024 Biden administration rule requiring states to pay childcare providers before attendance verification. Under Cruz’s proposal, providers would be paid only after services are confirmed, shifting from enrollment-based payments to attendance-based billing.

Cruz’s bill comes as the outspoken Texan led a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on alleged Somali fraudsters last week. There, lawmakers heard directly from David Hoch, a journalist who accompanied blogger Nick Shirley to sites claiming to be Somali daycare centers.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WIDENS INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD

“There are few crimes more morally repugnant than stealing from vulnerable children. Every dollar stolen is a meal not eaten, a doctor’s visit missed and a future diminished,” Cruz said, adding that such fraud “plunders our children’s potential.”

Gesturing toward a photo of the “Quality Learing Center” in Minneapolis during the hearing, an alleged fraudulent childcare provider Cruz called “emblematic” of the crisis, he said the fraud was occurring not in “some distant or lawless place, but in the heart of America’s Midwest.”

Co-sponsor Lee said support for childcare should “go to real kids, not empty rooms.”

“Fake childcare operations are stealing funding from the ones who are actually taking care of America’s children in need. Our bill will address this massive fraud by granting funding based on actual attendance rather than reported enrollment and allowing states to pay retroactively instead of in advance,” Lee said, adding such “diligence” should have been the law all along.

PAM BONDI DISPATCHES FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO MINNESOTA FOLLOWING SOMALI FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

The Payment Integrity Act also puts into law the January rule from Health and Human Services that established attendance-based billing procedures.

That rule, according to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s deputy, Jim O’Neill, was also spurred by what has been happening in Minnesota.

“We’ve seen credible and widespread allegations of fraudulent daycare providers who were not caring for children at all. The reforms we are enacting will make fraud harder to perpetrate,” O’Neill said in a statement.

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The Payment Integrity Act amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, to include such “attendance-based billing.”

“Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require a lead agency to make a payment to a child care provider prior to the provision of child care services,” the bill states in a direct reversal of the prepayment system Cruz says allowed fraud to flourish.