Gov. Tim Walz tells a House panel the Trump immigration crackdown hampered Minnesota’s fraud fight
Minnesota’s governor and attorney general defended their efforts to combat fraud on Wednesday, telling a U.S. House committee that their efforts were hampered by President Donald Trump’s sanctions. immigration pressure in the state.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee were charged Governor Tim Walz And Attorney General Keith Ellison They decided to delay tackling fraud in government programs by pausing payments, saying they were promoting policy rather than rooting out abuse.
“You have failed to handle taxpayer dollars well,” said Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee chairman. “And the Democrats’ position is to keep the money flowing. American taxpayers are fed up.”
Walz has said he wants to work with the federal government to help with fraud investigations, but wave of migration It made it even more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political revenge on an unprecedented scale,” Walz said. “We will prosecute each individual involved in the fraud, but we cannot do this alone.”
While Walz and Ellison defend their fraud efforts, they also focus on the hearing. Influx of 3,000 federal agents It started in Minnesota in December. The Trump administration cited fraud as one of the reasons for the sanctions decision. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem He testified on Tuesday approximately 650 researchers remaining as part of a larger fraud investigation in Minnesota.
“Operation Metro Surge did nothing to address fraud in our state,” Ellison said. “It harmed our economy, hurt our people, and dealt a devastating blow to fraud enforcement in Minnesota.”
Ellison noted: serial resignation of lawyers It leaves those who continue to be “inundated with immigration-related petitions” rather than file fraud charges with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota. U.S. attorney for Minnesota appeared Tuesday before a judge for not returning detainees’ personal belongings during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement contempt hearing.
Ellison said his office “pulled above its weight” in winning 300 Medicaid fraud convictions and recovering more than $80 million from taxpayers.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana called on Ellison to resign, accusing him of failing to lead investigations into criminal fraudulent activity.
Last week, Vice President J.D. Vance said Trump Management ‘will be temporarily suspended’ $243 million in Medicaid funding for Minnesota over fraud concernsas part of what he describes as offensive Crackdown on misuse of public funds. Minnesota The lawsuit was filed on Monday To prevent the money from being withheld, it warned that if the money was withheld, health care services for low-income families might have to be cut.
On Wednesday, Comer accused Walz of not stopping Medicaid payments despite knowledge of the fraud because he “didn’t want to rock the boat.”
Comer and other Republicans accused Walz of lying when he first learned of the fraud. $250 million plan known as Feeding Our Future and delaying action to protect the Somali American community. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio asked Walz if he knew how many of those charged had been charged. Somali Americans.
“Their ethnicity is none of my business,” Walz said.
Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 defendants charged so far in the Feeding Our Future case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California held up images of children detained by federal officers and a picture of a bloody car seat as part of an effort to focus the hearing on immigration crackdowns. Renee Good person killed by an officer. Federal officers also killed another Minnesota resident. Alex is beautifulperson who films enforcement operations.
“This violence does not make us safer,” Garcia said. “It does not address the issues of fraud, waste and abuse.”
