White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a blunt warning this week, saying plainly that “people will be in handcuffs” as federal authorities close in on an expansive fraud scandal unfolding in Minnesota. Her comments on Fox underscore a hard truth conservatives have long argued: when taxpayer dollars are stolen on this scale, the response must be swift and unforgiving.
Leavitt made clear the Biden-era soft approach to enforcement is over under this administration, listing a coordinated federal response that includes the Department of Justice executing search warrants and the Department of Homeland Security conducting on-the-ground investigations. She even invoked denaturalization as a tool the administration is willing to use where appropriate—an unapologetic stance that signals prosecutions, not press conferences, will follow.
President Trump has publicly targeted Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz, and used events such as his Mar-a-Lago appearance to promise that the matter will be fully pursued by the federal government. Reports estimate losses could reach into the hundreds of millions, and prosecutors have already begun indicting and charging dozens of suspects — proof that Attorney General-led enforcement is not just rhetoric.
Federal agencies beyond DOJ and DHS are involved, with Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Labor scrutinizing particular benefit programs and even pausing certain payments while audits move forward. Minnesota’s governor has been forced to acknowledge the problem and order third-party audits and payment freezes on programs where fraud is suspected, a humiliating but necessary step to start restoring trust.
Conservative taxpayers should feel vindicated that this administration is acting to defend their hard-earned dollars, but the outrage must turn into sustained oversight. For years the left celebrated expanding government programs without fixing internal controls, and now the consequences have arrived — waste, abuse, and a betrayal of the most vulnerable who rely on these safety nets. No amount of sanctimony from local Democrats should shield anyone who profited from stealing from those in need.
If prosecutions, denaturalizations, and freezes of federal funds are what it takes to send a message, then so be it; America will not tolerate organized theft of its charity and benefits. Leavitt’s warning ought to be taken seriously by crooks and career politicians alike: the era of cute excuses and soft enforcement is over, and patriots demand accountability for every dollar and every victim.
