Comer, House Oversight demand answers in Minnesota fraud hearing, call on Walz to testify
House Republicans invite Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to testify about alleged fraud rings in state social services programs. Chairman James Comer schedules hearing for Jan. 7.
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Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are escalating their investigation into Minnesota’s sweeping fraud schemes, setting a hearing next week and demanding answers from Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over what they say were glaring failures of oversight.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced lawmakers would hold a hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 7, evaluating the fraud scandal, its scale and whether the state’s leadership could have done something to prevent exploitation from happening in the first place.
"Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable," Comer said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
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Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, pictured alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, right. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images; Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
While the committee will also hear testimony from lawmakers in Minnesota, Republican lawmakers believe it is the Walz administration that holds the answers on how the problem got so large.
"Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs. American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money," Comer said.
The Committee will hear from Reps. Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick — all Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
It’s unclear if Walz or Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will accept the invitation.
When asked about whether he would cooperate with congressional investigations, Walz told Fox News Digital he believed the hearing would have little to do with the problem of fraud.
"We’re always happy to work with Congress, though this committee has a track record of holding circus hearings that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. While the Governor has been working to ensure fraudsters go to prison, the president has been selling pardons to let them out," Walz's office said.
