Fraud is not isolated nor an anomaly in Minnesota, but part of a longstanding pattern, state lawmakers will tell a congressional panel Wednesday, as they detail interactions with whistleblowers.

Members of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee will testify to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Daily Signal reviewed their prepared opening remarks. 

The congressional hearing comes two days after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the 2024 Democrat vice presidential nominee, dropped his bid for a third term as governor, as he faced increased scrutiny over questions of widespread fraud in the state. 

?On Wednesday, the American people will hear directly from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this massive fraud.

Their warnings were ignored by Governor Tim Walz.

Americans deserve answers, and they deserve them now. @BillMelugin_ @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/psua19otrn

— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) January 5, 2026

Minnesota state Rep. Walter Hudson, a Republican, will cite the findings of the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor of a decades-long pattern of fraud, according to his prepared remarks.

“The recent focus on childcare fraud is not an isolated scandal,” Hudson’s prepared remarks say. â€œIt is the latest manifestation of a pattern that has repeated itself for decades across different programs, populations, and funding streams.”

His remarks note that the multiple state programs–including Personal Care Assistance, Home and Community-Based Services, COVID-era programs, autism services, adult day care, housing stabilization services, and childcare assistance–all have the same structural features.

Those common problems, according to Hudson, are rapid expansion of funding and provider participation; payment systems that prioritize access and speed; verification that occurs after funds are disbursed; and insufficient oversight and accountability.

Federal prosecutors have estimated that welfare fraud in the state could have topped $9 billion. Amid the fraud arrests, the Trump administration has withheld funds for certain social programs.

Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican and chair of the fraud prevention committee, plans to highlight the scale of the problem, outline the work her committee is doing to fight the fraud, and “provide a roadmap for other states” to detect and stop fraud. 

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. asks in his opening remarks for the hearing, “How many children have gone hungry because fraudsters stole money that was intended to provide them with food?” 

“Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes,” Comer’s prepared remarks say. 

State Rep. Marion Rarick, a member of the fraud prevention committee, will also discuss her interactions with whistleblowers at the Minnesota Department of Human Services over the last year.

Rarick reached a whistleblower by direct message on the social media platform X about a year ago, who replied to her about “potential movement of money to cover losses of federal grant dollars,” according to her prepared remarks. 

The congressional panel is already investigating the fraud scandal that has exploded into a national story over the last month and led to federal criminal charges. 

Comer requested the U.S. Department of the Treasury provide all relevant Suspicious Activity Reports to support the committee’s investigation into fraud in the state. Comer has also requested transcribed interviews with several Minnesota state officials.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Walz said the buck stops with him on problems, but he stressed he had no role in the fraud. He accused Republicans of having a motivation to eliminate social programs. 

“The Republicans’ goal is to have none of those programs, and I can guarantee you one way to ensure there’s no fraud, just don’t do the program, and then you will look like states who rank at the bottom in every single initiative,” Walz said. 

Walz blamed the Trump administration for an “assault” on Minnesota.

“We are under assault, like no other time in our state’s history, because of a petty, vile administration that doesn’t care about the well being of Minnesotans,” Walz said. “My job is to protect the well being of Minnesota.”

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