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By Joe Edwards
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A petition calling on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s administration to resign has received thousands of signatures online, citing in part, “the issue of widespread fraud” in the state.
As of early Wednesday, the Change.org petition has more than 46,000 signatures.
Newsweek reached out to Walz’s office for comment via email early on Wednesday.
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Why It Matters
Widespread welfare fraud in Minnesota was first uncovered by the Department of Justice in 2022, which described defendants at the time as people “who have exploited the pandemic for personal gain and stolen from American taxpayers.”
Around 90 people have been charged with defrauding state and federal programs to provide nutrition, health care and housing assistance. There have been 57 guilty pleas and convictions in one program alone, the so-called Feeding our Future scheme, named after a Minnesota nonprofit that billed the government for hundreds of millions of meals that were never served.
Estimates of the cost to taxpayers range from $250 million to $1 billion. Most of the defendants are of East African descent and believed to be part of Minnesota's Somali immigrant community, the largest in the United States.
What To Know
The petition calls for the resignations of Walz, a Democrat, and several other state officials, citing economic hardship and perceived failures of oversight tied to fraud cases such as the Feeding Our Future “scandal.”
“It is time for new leadership that can deliver on promises and rebuild the connection between government and its constituents, ensuring transparency, integrity, and progress for all Minnesotans,” the petition states.
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Walz, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee in 2024, has faced mounting calls from some Republicans to resign.
On Sunday, five Republican lawmakers from the Minnesota House and Senate issued a joint statement saying: “For the good of the state, Gov. Walz should step aside.”
“It's absurd for @Tim_Walz to dismiss the corruption that happened right under his nose. He should resign,” Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, wrote on X on Monday. “Minnesotans deserve better.”
What People Are Saying
The Change.org petition says: “The lack of effective oversight and accountability under Governor Walz's watch has led to financial mismanagement and a loss of confidence among the state's citizens.”
Governor Tim Walz's office previously told Newsweek: "The Governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and asked the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight—including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed. He has hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions."
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in November: "Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota...Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both."
What Happens Next
FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that the agency had dispatched personnel and resources to Minnesota to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs."
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