Minnesota Governor Walz Faces GOP Firestorm Over Widening Exposé on Somali Fraud Scandal

Republicans are eviscerating Governor Tim Walz over his lack of leadership as a billion-dollar fraud scandal envelopes the state of Minnesota — fueled by a viral video that proves Somali-owned childcare centers are taking money and not providing services.Officials within the Trump Administration, as well as local political leaders, say they are looking to get the situation under control.The responses come after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted on YouTube and X a 42-minute-long video in which he visited several childcare centers in Minnesota that are owned by members of the Somali community. In some cases, he reported that there were no children in the facilities that were receiving state funds.One facility, Quality Learning Center, displayed a sign with its own name misspelled as “Quality Learing Center.” The facility is licensed for 99 children and received roughly $4 million in state funds, according to Mr. Shirley. But when he arrived, the door was locked and the windows were blacked out.The video went viral, drawing scrutiny from state and federal officials after garnering more than 100 million views across YouTube and X.The video went viral, drawing scrutiny from state and federal officials.“What’s happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigriation [sic] fraud in our system. Politicans [sic] like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich,” Vice President Vance said in a post on X. “But it’s a zero sum game, and they’re stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans.” [sic]“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to and an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly,” Congressman Tom Emmer wrote on X.Mr. Emmer also shared a post from Mr. Walz — which featured a cat and the caption “Happy Caturday” — and wrote, “Your mismanagement of state funds has just been exposed to tens of millions of Americans and you’re posting about ‘Caturday.’ You should be ashamed.”The video surfaced weeks after federal prosecutors charged multiple individuals in Minnesota with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The House Oversight Committee is now probing allegations of widespread fraud in the state’s social service programs.“MN House Democrats tried everything to prevent House Republicans from establishing the Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee,” The Minnesota House speaker, Lisa Demuth, posted on X, “House Republicans prevailed and established the committee. The theft of tax dollars in MN is finally gaining national attention. Democrats will be held responsible.”FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”“To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network,” Mr. Patel said on X.Tech billionaire Elon Musk — former Trump administration adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency — has also weighed in.“The radical left has been using fraudulent government programs for a long time to import and retain vast numbers of illegal (and legal, in some cases) immigrants to win elections and turn America into a single-party state, destroying any real democracy,” he said in a post on X.“The more you look at it, the more you will be horrified at what your tax money is doing and the fact that, if this is not reversed, your vote will mean nothing.” Mr. Musk also shared another post on Monday that highlights how Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s net worth had climbed from a paltry $45,000 in 2019 to $30 million in 2025 despite earning a yearly congressional salary of $174,000.Governor Walz has mostly kept quiet on the mounting allegations and had not made any initial public comments after Mr. Shirley’s video was posted online. On Monday, his office finally released a statement, claiming that he has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and has strengthened oversight of state programs, launching investigations into multiple facilities.“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action,” the spokesperson said to Fox News. “He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed.”

Minnesota Governor Walz Faces GOP Firestorm Over Widening Exposé on Somali Fraud Scandal

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