Walz responds to Trump admin crackdown on Minnesota over alleged fraud: 'This is Trump's long game'

Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who also ran as his party's nominee for vice president last year, slammed the Trump administration Tuesday for its decision to pause federal funding for the state amid widespread fraud allegations. 

The Small Business Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services both announced this week that it was pausing federal funding over allegations that the state allowed fraud schemes to infiltrate their publicly funded programs, such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and Medicaid, and steal millions of taxpayer dollars.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that over 60 people have been convicted of fraud in Minnesota so far, and 98 have been charged. The fraud allegations have received national attention recently but have been going on for years.

Walz criticized the administration in a social media post, declaring that the recent actions are part of President Donald Trump's "long game" to pull funding for the state.

"We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters," Walz said on X. "It’s a serious issue - but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans."

The SBA said it is focusing its investigation on fraud in two COVID-era state programs: The Payment Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans. HHS is pausing its disbursements of child-care funds over allegations of fraud within the state's daycare system.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.