The scandal over Somali immigrants defrauding the state of Minnesota will not go away until someone in power has been locked up, a political strategist has warned.

Former Bush adviser Scott Jennings told CNN host Abby Phillip: 'Until somebody in a position of power... who was in charge of administering this or having some oversight over it, goes to jail, it's honestly never going to stop.'

Republican firebrand Representative Anna Paulina Luna has gone further, calling for a total immigration moratorium when Congress returns. 

The fraud stems from longstanding vulnerabilities in federally funded programs such as the Child Care Assistance Program, predominantly involving members of the state's large Somali community who are accused of billing for nonexistent services.  

The scheme builds on the infamous $250 million Feeding Our Future meal fraud from the COVID era, during which dozens were convicted. 

A federal prosecutor alleged earlier in December that roughly $9 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen.

The furor exploded on Friday after a viral YouTube video by independent journalist Nick Shirley documented empty Somali-run daycares that were receiving taxpayer funds, prompting a federal surge in investigations and renewed political outrage.

Jennings clashed on Monday night with Phillip after she asserted that 'the idea that nothing is being done that no one is being held accountable ... is completely false.'

Scott Jennings dropped what social media described as a 'truth nuke' when he clashed with CNN host Abby Phillip over the lack of accountability by elected officials for the childcare fraud

Representative Anna Paulina Luna at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix this month

The Republican strategist fired back: 'Well, some people have been held accountable. But I think in the opinion of most Republicans, not nearly enough.' 

Then he warned, in what MAGA commentators described as a 'knockout line' and a 'truth nuke', that the scandal was just the tip of the iceberg, where Democrat-run states and cities across the country were not being held accountable.

'Look what's going on in blue states across the country: nine billion in Minnesota, 70 billion in fraud in California, cooking the crime stats in Washington, DC,' Jennings said.

'When is someone in a position of power going to go to jail for the rampant fraud? You can put all the low-level people in jail you want, but until somebody in charge goes to jail, it won't stop.'