Rep. James Comer went on Rob Schmitt’s show this week and laid out the case the House Oversight Committee opened after a January 7 hearing into massive alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social-services programs. Comer has made no secret that his committee intends to get documents, transcribed interviews, and answers from state officials and federal agencies about how taxpayer dollars were siphoned off under Governor Tim Walz’s watch.
At the hearing, Minnesota state lawmakers — Republicans who sounded the alarm for years — testified that probes were shut down and whistleblowers were ignored as suspicious payments multiplied. Chairman Comer formally invited Governor Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to appear for a February 10 public hearing and asked the Treasury for Suspicious Activity Reports to follow the money. The committee is coordinating with ongoing DOJ prosecutions that officials say have already uncovered staggering sums.
Comer and his staff say auditors and prosecutors have already flagged at least a quarter of a billion dollars in improper or suspicious payments, and they warned this could balloon into the billions once the accounting is finished. A federal prosecutor has even described an estimate in the billions, while separate HHS audits going back over a decade identified millions in improper child-care payments that should have raised red flags long ago. Conservatives watching this say those early warnings were dismissed, and now taxpayers are left picking up the tab.
Let’s be clear: Comer is doing what voters sent him to Washington to do — hold power accountable and protect taxpayers. If state leadership turned a blind eye or interfered with investigations to protect political allies, that is either gross incompetence or complicity, neither of which is acceptable. The Oversight Committee is right to demand documents, witnesses, and prosecutions where the evidence supports it.
Whistleblowers described intimidation, destroyed evidence, and the chilling of investigations; those are not partisan talking points but red flags that demand independent scrutiny. When courageous state employees say they were pushed aside and faced retaliation for trying to stop fraud, Congress and the Department of Justice have no choice but to act vigorously. The American people deserve a full accounting and every dollar returned.
The political fallout is already real: Governor Walz announced he would not run for another term, and Minnesota Democrats are scrambling to regroup as high-profile names weigh whether to step in. That is the political consequence of years of mismanagement and failed oversight — when you fail to protect taxpayer funds, you lose the trust that keeps you in office. Voters should remember who was in charge when the money vanished.
Republicans in Congress must keep the heat on, push for arrests where the evidence supports them, and demand sweeping reforms so federal funds don’t become a cash cow for fraud again. Freeze the payments until Minnesota proves it has real anti-fraud safeguards, hold any complicit officials to account, and make sure the hard-working Americans who fund these programs get justice. This is about protecting families, defending taxpayers, and restoring honesty to government — and conservatives should lead that fight without apology.
