5 Ways Trump Put Pressure on ‘Rampant Fraud’ in Minnesota This Week
Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell /
The Trump administration made a series of moves this week to crack down on the fraud that has allegedly occurred in Minnesota under Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s watch.
“Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, the federal government is fully exposing and aggressively prosecuting the rampant fraud that was allowed to happen for years under failed Democrat leadership in the great state of Minnesota,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told The Daily Signal.
“The Trump administration will not rest until all the damaged caused by incompetent Tim Walz and his Democrat allies has been reversed,” Huston continued.
Five executive agencies took actions against Minnesota this week:
1. Department of Agriculture
The Department of Agriculture sent a letter to Walz requiring Minnesota to conduct recertifications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in four counties.
Secretary Brooke Rollins demanded Minnesota participate in a pilot program to root out fraud and abuse.
Rollins took this action after the Department of Justice found that members of the Somali community through the fake nonprofit Feeding Our Future allegedly defrauded taxpayers of at least $1 billion under Walz’s administration.
2. Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services sent eight letters to Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and the largest Head Start provider in Minneapolis, requiring citizenship or incoming eligibility data for recipients of benefits.
Head Start is a program helping children from low-income families to enter kindergarten.
3. Department of Labor
The Department of Labor launched an investigation into Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance Program.
The Labor Department sent a letter to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development saying that recent reports of fraud, waste, and abuse may compromise the integrity of its Unemployment Insurance Program, which provides temporary financial aid to workers who lose their jobs.
“I am appalled at what we are hearing about potential fraud coming from numerous benefits programs in Minnesota. If there has been any related abuse of our UI systems, it will not be tolerated, and I trust our specialized strike team to get to the bottom of this and report their findings directly to me,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said. “Our mission to protect American workers remains unchanged, and I will not allow malicious actors to destroy the integrity of this trusted program.”
4. Department of Justice
The Justice Department sued Minneapolis Public Schools over allegations of diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices. This includes a collective bargaining agreement that promised to give preference to teachers of an “underrepresented population.”
The DOJ claims that since July 1, 2021, Minneapolis Public Schools has worked with a teachers union to provide “black teachers, teachers of color, and ‘underrepresented’ teachers preferential treatment in employment decisions.”
“Discrimination is unacceptable in all forms, especially when it comes to hiring decisions. Our public education system in Minnesota and across the country must be a bastion of merit and equal opportunity—not DEI,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
5. Department of Education
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to Walz highlighting fraud allegations within the state’s college education system.
“In Minnesota, 1,834 ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans,” McMahon said. “They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest—without attending the college at all.
She even called on Walz to resign.
“Given your dereliction of the office entrusted to you by Minnesotans, I implore you to resign and make way for more capable leadership,” she said in a Dec. 15 letter.
She accused Walz of doing “absolutely nothing” to prevent or stop fraud.