Tim Walz will not seek reelection as Minnesota governor

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz is abandoning his candidacy re-electionHe announced Monday morning.

The announcement comes as Walz, Kamala Harris’s vice president pick for her unsuccessful 2024 bid for the White House, continues to face heated criticism over a massive fraud scandal in his state.

“As I reflected on this moment with my family and team over the holidays, I came to this conclusion: can’t “I’m giving my all to a political campaign,” Walz said in a statement.

“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests is a minute I cannot spend defending the people of Minnesota against criminals who prey on our generosity and skeptics who prey on our differences,” he said.

“So I decided to drop out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on my job,” the governor said.

Walz read the same statement at a brief news conference later Monday. He did not accept any questions.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, is weighing a bid for Minnesota governor in light of Walz’s resignation, The New York Times reports reported Monday. Walz and Klobuchar spoke over the weekend, multiple sources reported.

Walz announced in September that he would seek a third term in office. But while Walz was leading the state, his plans were soon dashed by grim reports of welfare fraud scams that have emerged in Minnesota in the years since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Last month, a federal prosecutor in Minnesota estimated that the fraud schemes may total more than 100. 9 billion dollarsAgain Waltz he called this number “sensational”.

The scandal has put a spotlight on the Somali community in the state. majority of people So far, there have been accusations of fraud from the Department of Justice.

President Donald Trump responded to reports of fraud with virulent anti-Somali rhetoric and renewed attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American member of Congress.

The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it would freeze all federal child care payments to Minnesota.

In Monday’s statement, Walz defended Minnesota’s Somali people and acknowledged that fraud in the state needs to be addressed.

“Make no mistake: We should do Let’s be concerned about fraud in our state government. “If we cannot gain the public’s trust, we cannot effectively deliver programs and services,” Walz said, listing the steps his administration has already taken.

“But the political gamesmanship we see from Republicans only makes this fight harder to win,” he said.

“We had the President of the United States demonize our Somali neighbors and wrongly seize child care funds that Minnesotans rely on.”