Walz, Ellison Face House Grilling Over Billions in Fraud Among State Safety Net Social Programs

(KNSI) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison are testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about billions of dollars in fraud within the state’s safety net social programs.

An explosive 54-page report issued Wednesday accuses Walz and Ellison of knowing about the fraud, having the legal authority to stop it, and choosing not to act. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan grilled Walz about why the Feeding Our Future funding pipeline wasn’t cut off.

“Payments stopped because there were concerns, obviously, or you wouldn’t have stopped the payments, then they restarted a month later. What was the reason for restarting the payments?” Walz said his understanding was that “the agency believed the court had required them to make those payments.”

The report says:

“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.”

Nearly 80 people have been charged after bilking the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child Nutrition Program out of $250 million.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating 14 state Medicaid programs designated “high-risk” for fraud. Since 2018, these programs have cost taxpayers more than $18 billion, with federal prosecutors estimating that half or more — potentially $9 billion — went to fraudulent activity. Minnesota froze all provider enrollment for these programs in January 2026 after the federal government threatened to withhold all federal funding.

Read the full report here.

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