Some Dems signal Walz should testify over fraud scandal, others duck responsibility
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Amid the backlash over the massive Minnesota Medicaid fraud scandal led by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, some Democrats have evaded responsibility while others have said Walz should be held accountable.
“I think any case of fraud should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent, and therefore the federal government should play an oversight role over federal dollars,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., told Fox News Digital. “States have an obligation to make sure they implement these programs. Every situation should be investigated. Where there is fraud, people should be prosecuted for that fraud.”
Asked whether Walz should be forced to testify for allowing so much money to be lost to fraud under his watch, Olszewski said “anyone involved in large-scale fraud” should appear before Congress and tell us what happened.
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Democratic Congressman Johnny Olszewski has suggested that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz testify to Congress about the Minnesota fraud scandal involving Medicaid dollars. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Olszewski wasn’t the only Fox News Digital Democrat to suggest Walz face the music, but others dodged the question, with some pointing the finger at President Donald Trump and Republicans.
When asked if anything should be done to prevent such widespread fraud as seen in Minnesota in the first place, Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said, “This is not a partisan issue. I just wish we could focus on really looking at where the facts lead us and that one side is fighting waste, fraud and abuse while the other side isn’t.”
‘FRAUD CENTER’: MINNESOTA’S EMPTY MISTAKES, FAKE AUTISM THERAPY AND A SCANDAL THAT COULD REACH UP TO 2 BILLION DOLLARS
“There’s always a fraud problem. So there was a huge civil fraud division at the Department of Justice that did a lot of great work, and so we [Inspector Generals] and similar across the federal government. Eliminating them and laying off this staff was one of the worst things the Trump administration could do if it was serious about combating waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md.
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., speaks at a press conference with Free DC and city council members outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, “to oppose Donald Trump’s surge of illegal federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
On whether Walz should testify, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., told Fox News Digital: “Oh, I don’t know if you need the governor to do that. Certainly someone from Minnesota with the best insight into what went wrong should do it.”
At a news conference Thursday, federal officials in Minnesota announced new charges in the fraud scandal that has made national headlines and spoke about the scope of the crisis, saying it has gone beyond what was previously reported.
As federal prosecutors continue to unravel one of the nation’s largest COVID-era fraud cases, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., is at the center of a growing scandal. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Minnesota Democratic lawmakers received over $50,000 in campaign donations from fraudsters who siphoned off taxpayer funds to help feed children, according to a report.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
