Oversight Committee Releases Explosive Testimony Revealing Minnesota Fraud Cover-Up by Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison

Report reveals Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison knew of rampant fraud earlier than previously disclosed

WASHINGTON—Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released an interim staff report titled “The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion.” The interim report, based on transcribed interviews with nine current and former Minnesota state employees and documents obtained to date, includes new explosive testimony revealing that senior officials in Minnesota state government — including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison — were aware for years of widespread fraud in federally funded social services programs, deliberately misled the American people about their knowledge of the fraud, possessed clear authority to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and repeatedly failed to take meaningful action.

“Testimony obtained by the Committee reveals that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud in social service programs, lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns. Instead of protecting vulnerable Americans, they handed over billions in taxpayer dollars to fraudsters and threw their own state employees under the bus. Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison are appearing before the Committee because the American people deserve clear answers about how this rampant fraud was allowed to flourish under their watch. The House Oversight Committee will continue to investigate massive waste, fraud, and abuse in Minnesota’s social services programs,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

In December 2025, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the extensive money laundering and fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs that has been uncovered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. To date, the Committee has conducted transcribed interviews with nine key current and former Minnesota state officials. Across these transcribed interviews, Republican staff asked questions over a combined total of 36 hours and 46 minutes while Democratic staff only asked questions for a combined total of just 3 hours and 14 minutes.

While the Committee’s investigation remains ongoing, the investigation has found that senior officials in Minnesota state government, including Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison, were aware of widespread fraud in federally funded social services programs for years, possessed the legal and procedural authority to stop payments, but repeatedly failed to act. As a result, potentially billions of American taxpayer dollars were allowed to flow to fraudulent actors, while vulnerable populations were harmed and whistleblowers were ignored, sidelined, and retaliated against.

Below are key findings from the interim report:

Despite contrary claims to media, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of credible fraud concerns as early as 2019 at the Minnesota Department of Human Services and by April 2020 at the Minnesota Department of Education.

State agencies had clear legal authority to suspend or terminate payments to providers suspected of fraud, yet officials continued funding them, citing litigation threats and concerns about being perceived as racist rather than any actual legal barrier.

Despite Governor Walz’s claims, the Federal Bureau of Investigation never instructed Minnesota officials to continue payments to Feeding Our Future or any other provider under federal investigation for possible fraud.

In the case of Feeding Our Future, the Minnesota Department of Education voluntarily continued payments despite identifying serious program deficiencies and no court order requiring payments to resume.

As a result of these failures, an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds were lost or placed at significant risk.

Read the report here.