Minnesota Republican lawmakers call for Walz's resignation over million-dollar state program fraud scandal

A group of Republican lawmakers from Minnesota formally called for the resignation of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, whom they accuse of allowing a fraud crisis to grow unchecked during his tenure, with a potential impact of up to $9 billion for state taxpayers.

The demand was made through a joint statement signed by state senators Bill Lieske and Nathan Wesenberg, along with representatives Marj Fogelman, Drew Roach, and Mike Wiener. In the text, the Republican lawmakers argue that the case is not in response to a partisan dispute, but to a serious failure of leadership and institutional oversight.

"Minnesotans have been watching the fraud crisis get worse and worse for years. It has gone on long enough," the lawmakers said.

The group explained that their request is based on Article 8, Section 6 of the Minnesota Constitution, which provides for the removal of officials for "gross misconduct" in the performance of their duties. While they did not formally push for impeachment proceedings, they noted that the magnitude of the scandal warrants a political exit by the governor.

"This is not about politics or stunts, and we do not make a call like this lightly. The office of the governor deserves respect, and we have tried to give Gov. Walz time to act," they argued.

The backdrop to the complaint is a federal investigation that revealed a massive fraud scheme in state programs, detected primarily within Minnesota's Somali community, that may have diverted billions of dollars intended for vulnerable populations.

"We are talking about billions of dollars in fraud that should have gone to vulnerable Minnesotans. The red flags were everywhere," the lawmakers noted, stressing that the problem persisted year after year without structural corrections.

Political pressure on Governor Walz, a former running mate of Kamala Harris, increased further following the viralization of a video by journalist Nick Shirley, which exposed alleged fictitious daycare centers linked to the fraud scheme and surpassed 100 million views on 'X' (formerly Twitter).

From the governor's office rejected the accusations and defended his administration. A spokesman assured that Walz "has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action," in addition to having strengthened oversight mechanisms and promoted external audits and criminal prosecutions.

However, for Republican lawmakers, political accountability is inescapable. "What we are seeing from the governor is what nonfeasance looks like," they said. "For the good of the state, Gov. Walz should step aside."