Overview
- Walz ended his 2026 campaign on Monday, saying the "buck stops with me" and arguing partisan attacks are complicating efforts to fix state program failures.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze federal child-care payments to Minnesota after a viral Nick Shirley video, though state investigators later said the featured centers were operating as expected.
- Federal prosecutors continue pandemic-era and social-service fraud cases, including Feeding Our Future, with estimates of losses ranging from at least $1 billion to as high as $9 billion and dozens charged since 2022.
- Walz’s exit opens a competitive race, with Democrats weighing new contenders — including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, according to reporting — and Republicans expanding a field that includes Lisa Demuth, Mike Lindell and others.
- The investigations have fueled national political attacks highlighting some defendants’ Somali background, drawing denunciations from Walz over the president’s rhetoric toward Minnesota’s Somali community.