Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz isn't "helping himself by refusing to take responsibility" for the welfare fraud that occurred in "plain sight" during the COVID-19 pandemic in his state, The Washington Post editorial board wrote Wednesday.
The Justice Department announced new charges last week against the 78th defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which prosecutors say involved more than $250 million in stolen funds from a federally funded child nutrition program and has already resulted in over 50 convictions. Many of those charged come from Minnesota’s Somali community.
"The governor is not helping himself by refusing to take responsibility for the welfare fraud that happened in plain sight during the pandemic. Residents, mostly of Somali descent, targeted established Medicaid programs. They opened fake food distribution centers and autism centers to funnel resources away from the neediest. The numbers alone made clear what was happening," the editors wrote.
"Autism centers in Minnesota grew by 700 percent between 2018 and 2023 once it became clear how much welfare money was available for the taking. Funding increased by 3,000 percent, from $6 million to almost $192 million. No reasonable person could possibly believe this money was addressing a real surge in autism, yet attempts to flag strange trends went unanswered," they continued.
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The editorial board pointed to Walz's appearance on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, when he was pressed on whether he wanted to take responsibility for failing to stop fraud in his state.
"Well, certainly I take responsibility for putting people in jail. Governors don’t get to just talk theoretically. We have to solve problems and I will note, it’s not just Somalis. Minnesota is a generous state, Minnesota is a prosperous state, a well-run state, we are AAA bond-rated, but that attracts criminals. Those people are going to jail, and we are doing everything we can, but to demonize an entire community on the actions of a few, it's lazy," Walz responded.
They argued that those charged with fraud had their sights "set on the state’s vast and unaccountable welfare programs: European-style entitlements that turned out to be shockingly easy to scam."
The editorial board used the word "lazy" to describe Walz's response and compared it to President Donald Trump claiming that the "good parts" of the economy were his doing, before blaming the bad parts on former President Joe Biden, during a "Meet the Press" interview earlier this year.
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"But it is also lazy to sing the praises of Minnesota’s famously generous welfare state when its merits, and its resources, are evaporating. Walz signed anti-fraud legislation at the start of this year in an attempt to weed out abuses of the system more effectively, but he has also overseen a vast expansion of the welfare state during his tenure, without implementing robust safeguards and checks to be sure the money is fairly distributed," the board wrote.
The editors also criticized Trump's response to the fraud, which included the president calling Walz "retarded" in a Truth Social post. They called Trump's move to end deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota "morally bankrupt."
The editorial board noted that former Vice President Kamala Harris only carried Minnesota in the 2024 election by four points, despite having Walz on the ticket.
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Washington Post columnist Jim Geraghty also criticized Walz in a column on Tuesday, and said the governor was "crumbling" along with any possible hopes for 2028.
Gov. Walz's office did not immediately return a request for comment.
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