Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) stood before state lawmakers Tuesday night and took a victory lap on government fraud, calling himself a champion of accountability just hours after federal agents swept through 22 Minneapolis-area daycares without his help.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security raided the learning centers early Tuesday morning as part of the Trump administration’s anti-fraud crackdown. By afternoon, Walz was already trying to claim partial credit for the operation. By evening, he was at the podium giving his final State of the State address.
“Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today,” Patel posted in response to Walz’s claims. “But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”
In his address to state legislators, Walz highlighted measures he said he had taken to combat fraud in recent months.
“In February, I introduced a comprehensive anti-fraud package and began to implement a nine-part fraud prevention roadmap developed by Director of Program Integrity Tim O’Malley,” Walz said. “We’ve created additional checks and balances. We have brought on more investigators, more auditors, and more law enforcement agencies, as well as an outside firm to take a look at high-risk programs. People who have ripped us off are getting caught, and they are going to jail just like today.”
Walz then turned the tables, claiming fraud rates are higher in Republican-led states.
“I’ve said the buck stops with me. And I know some of you will take that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you the statistics show it’s happening in red states more than here,” he said.
Tuesday’s raids targeted several Somali-owned daycares and learning centers in the Minneapolis area. The sweeps are the latest development in a long-running fraud scandal that has siphoned tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from Minnesota state programs, often through fraudulent claims on federal funding streams.
Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison have faced persistent accusations of attempting to cover up the extent of the fraud and suppressing concerns raised by government employees. Both have denied those accusations, insisting the state has been proactively investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing.
In January, Walz announced he would not seek a third term as governor, citing a desire to focus on the state’s fraud problems.
