The state has drawn increasing national ire, especially from the White House and Republicans in Congress, over allegations of fraud involving government services.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services has frozen all child care payments to Minnesota, citing what it calls “egregious fraud” at state day care centers.
Republicans in Congress have invited Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’ former running mate in the 2024 presidential election, to testify before lawmakers about the fraud scandal that has rocked his state.
Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, scheduled a Feb. 10 hearing with the governor. The announcement came just days after influencer Nick Shirley posted a video on social media claiming fraud at multiple child care centers in Minnesota.
In a statement, Comer accused Walz of “asleep at the wheel” while federal prosecutors say hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were siphoned from a child nutrition program. The Ministry of Justice called it the “country’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme.”
Alleged fraud in Minnesota’s welfare programs has increasingly angered the White House and Republicans in Congress. On December 30, the federal Department of Health and Human Services said it was suspending child care payments to the state because of the controversy.
Walz, who has faced calls from the GOP to resign, criticized the Trump administration for politicizing what he called a “serious issue” and emphasized the president’s own pardons for people convicted of fraud.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Walz’s office said that while the governor “is eager to work with Congress,” the House Oversight Committee “has a track record of holding circus hearings that have nothing to do with the issue at hand.” His office did not confirm whether Walz had accepted the invitation to testify.
An initial hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 7 at 9 a.m., according to the House Oversight Committee. Minnesota state representatives Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick are listed as witnesses. All three are Republicans, and more people could participate.
Earlier in December First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said that since 2018At least half of the $18 billion paid through Minnesota’s fourteen Medicaid waiver programs could also be fraudulent.
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
Corey Schmidt covers politics and public safety for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
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