Tim Walz, Awash In Fraud Investigations, Crowns Himself Anti-Fraud Champ In Final State Address

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz boasted about his moves to crack down on fraud during his final State of the State address on Tuesday night, just hours after federal agents raided numerous daycares in the Minneapolis area as part of an investigation into government fraud that has plagued Minnesota for years.

In his remarks before state legislators, Walz highlighted steps he’s taken to address the rampant fraud in recent months as his second term as governor nears its end. The Democratic governor has come under pressure from the Trump administration after federal prosecutors uncovered a massive fraud scheme that has seen tens of millions of taxpayer dollars stolen from state government programs.

“In February, I introduced a comprehensive anti-fraud package and began to implement a nine-part fraud prevention roadmap developed by Director of Program Integrity Tim O’Malley,” Walz said. “We’ve created additional checks and balances. We have brought on more investigators, more auditors, and more law enforcement agencies, as well as an outside firm to take a look at high-risk programs. People who have ripped us off are getting caught, and they are going to jail just like today.”

Walz then claimed that more fraud is taking place in Republican-led states.

“I’ve said the buck stops with me. And I know some of you will take that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you the statistics show it’s happening in red states more than here,” Walz said. “But, so be it. But taking responsibility doesn’t just mean taking the blame. It means taking it upon yourself to fix the problem.”

The governor’s remarks came around 12 hours after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security raided 22 daycares and learning centers in the Minneapolis area as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-fraud crackdown. Earlier on Tuesday, Walz took credit for helping orchestrate the raids and was blasted by FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today,” Patel fired back. “But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”

Tuesday’s raids focused on many Somali-owned daycares and learning centers around Minneapolis. Under Walz’s watch, dozens of Somalis defrauded numerous Minnesota social programs for years before they were caught. The fraud scandal included the federally funded Feeding Our Future nonprofit, which claimed to hand out meals to children during the COVID pandemic, but greatly exaggerated its work.

Walz, along with Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, has been accused of attempting to cover up the state’s fraud problem and silence government employees who raised concerns. Walz and Ellison have denied those accusations and claim that the state government has been properly investigating and prosecuting fraud.

In January, Walz announced that he would not seek a third term for governor so he could focus on addressing the state’s fraud problem. In his State of the State address, Walz called on the Minnesota state legislature to pass legislation to strengthen government oversight.

“My ask for you tonight is simple,” Walz told state lawmakers. “If you’re taking fraud seriously, take your responsibility to help me stop it seriously. If you talk about oversight, vote for that oversight in the bills that are working their way through the chamber.”

Four months ago, Walz accused President Donald Trump of “politicizing the issue” of fraud as Trump deployed federal agents and immigration officers to the Minneapolis area.