Overview
- At a House Oversight hearing, Chairman James Comer accused Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of being complicit or negligent and of retaliating against whistleblowers who warned about years of fraud.
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said she referred Walz and Ellison to the Justice Department for criminal charges and noted the committee is seeking records and plans to call them to testify in February.
- Federal actions have intensified, with HHS freezing child care payments to Minnesota, the SBA pausing annual grant programs and suspending nearly 7,000 borrowers for roughly $400 million, and CMS leadership signaling that Medicaid funding could face broader cuts.
- Law enforcement activity continues, with roughly 100 defendants charged across Minnesota social services cases, including more than 70 in the Feeding Our Future nutrition scheme, and dozens of convictions reported.
- Republicans now cite about $9 billion in suspected losses, prosecutors have suggested far wider Medicaid exposure, and a viral video that accelerated scrutiny has been partly discredited by state officials on key details.