FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pictured at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KFGO-CBS) — A group of Minnesota House and Senate Republicans is calling on Gov. Tim Walz to resign over accusations that as much as $9 billion paid through state services during his administration could be fraudulent.
State Sens. Bill Lieske and Nathan Wesenberg and state Reps. Marj Fogelman, Drew Roach and Mike Wiener released the joint statement on Monday.
“This is not about politics or stunts, and we do not make a call like this lightly. The office of the governor deserves respect, and we have tried to give Gov. Walz time to act. But leadership means doing the right thing even when it is difficult, which is why we are calling on Gov. Walz to resign,” the statement said in part.
In response, the governor’s office said Walz has been working for years to crack down on fraud and has 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,” a spokesperson for Walz’s office said. “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.”
The legislators say Article 8, Section 6 of the Minnesota Constitution, which states the “grounds for recall of an officer other than a judge are serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime,” supports Walz’s resignation. However, the group of lawmakers says they are not launching a recall effort.
“When a governor fails to do what he is required to do, when he watches a crisis spiral out of control and does nothing to stop it, that is nonfeasance. The governor had a duty to oversee his administration and protect these programs. He failed. There needs to be consequences,” the legislators said.
The GOP lawmakers’ statement comes as DHS Secretary Krisi Noem said Homeland Security agents are “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud” in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, Walz and other state officials have disputed claims made earlier this month by federal prosecutors that the total fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could be as much as $9 billion.
This summer, Walz agreed with a previous estimate from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson that fraud across all programs, including the Feeding Our Future scheme, which is not a DHS-administered program, could total $1 billion.
More than 90 people have been accused, and in many cases convicted, of defrauding Minnesota of hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel called previous fraud arrests in Minnesota “just the tip of a very large iceberg.”
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