Rep. Jim Jordan sharply questioned Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing, accusing the governor of misleading the public about why his administration resumed payments connected to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Jordan focused on the decision by Walz’s administration to restart funding to the program in April 2021 after the payments had been temporarily halted amid concerns about potential fraud.
“March 30, 2021, the payments are stopped, and over a month later, the payments are restarted,” Jordan said during the hearing. “Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?”
Walz responded that his understanding at the time was that a court decision required the state to resume the payments.
“My understanding was the agency believed that the court had required them to make those payments,” Walz said.
Jordan quickly pushed back, citing a rare statement issued by Minnesota’s judicial system contradicting the governor’s explanation.
“The court issued a statement saying you were wrong,” Jordan said, referencing a 2022 court clarification that disputed claims that judges had ordered the state to resume the funding.
Federal prosecutors have charged 79 people since 2022 in connection with the massive fraud scheme involving emergency pandemic food assistance funds. The case centers on the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which investigators say orchestrated a scheme that siphoned roughly $250 million in federal nutrition funding.
Walz acknowledged the scandal during the hearing and said he has accepted responsibility for the failures that occurred under his administration.
“As governor, I’ve taken accountability for this. I’m not going to run again. I need to spend the time fixing this,” Walz said. “This does undermine trust in government.”
The hearing also featured tense exchanges involving Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Rep. Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip from Minnesota, accused Ellison of potentially obstructing the investigation into the fraud scheme and warned that criminal consequences could follow if allegations are proven.
“If these concerns are proven to be true, you should be disbarred and you should go to jail,” Emmer told Ellison during the hearing.
Emmer referenced an audio recording of a 2021 meeting in which individuals tied to the fraud scheme allegedly complained to Ellison about increased scrutiny of their nonprofit operations. Emmer argued that Ellison appeared sympathetic to the group’s concerns.
Ellison strongly denied wrongdoing and defended his office’s record on prosecuting fraud.
“Fraud in government programs is reprehensible,” Ellison said. “I’ve worked every day as attorney general to hold fraudsters accountable and I’m proud of my record.”
Ellison pointed to hundreds of fraud convictions and tens of millions of dollars recovered for taxpayers as evidence of his office’s work combating financial crimes.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently announced that approximately $259.5 million in Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota will not be paid due to ongoing fraud concerns tied to state programs.
Federal investigators have also uncovered a related scheme involving fraudulent autism services billing, with several suspects accused of recruiting members of the Somali immigrant community to enroll children in fake treatment programs to obtain federal funds. One defendant has already pleaded guilty in that case.
The Oversight Committee hearing marked the latest chapter in one of the largest pandemic-era fraud investigations in the United States, with lawmakers continuing to scrutinize how the program was able to operate for years before federal authorities stepped in.
The post Jim Jordan Grills Tim Walz Over Minnesota Feeding Our Future Fraud Scandal appeared first on Real News Now.
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