LIVE: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz testifies to House Oversight and Accountability Committee

Schools and Children Living in Fear

Reverend Tolgard testified that nearly 25% of St. Paul public school students shifted to distance learning due to fear of ICE agents, with American children now practicing drills for both active shooters and ICE encounters.

Indiscriminate Enforcement Against Citizens

Witnesses described ICE agents conducting reckless vehicle stops, wrongfully detaining US citizens—including an elderly man removed from his home in underwear and a local police officer—and following families to daycares.

Devastating Blow to Fraud Enforcement

Governor Walz stated the deployment of 3,000 federal agents diverted resources from fraud prosecution, causing six high-ranking federal prosecutors to resign initially, followed by eight more, leaving the US Attorney's Office drowning in immigration petitions rather than criminal cases.

Economic and Social Damage

Walz emphasized the operation caused hundreds of millions in economic damage and disrupted communities where families postponed funerals, skipped worship services, and hid in workplace coolers to avoid agents.

Explosive Growth Despite Red Flags

Representative Jordan highlighted that the program expanded from $3 million to $200 million in taxpayer funds within a few years, with whistleblowers and auditors raising concerns that were allegedly ignored.

Court Directly Refuted Governor's Claims

Jordan confronted Walz with a rare court statement explicitly calling the governor's claims "false" and clarifying that the court never ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to resume payments to Feeding Our Future in April 2021.

Allegations of Political Influence

Jordan cited fraud investigator Casey Maggan's assertion that forcefully tackling the fraud might cause political backlash among Somali Americans—a "core voting block"—noting that 85% of the 98 people indicted were Somali American, which Walz denied influenced the investigation.

Mass Resignations Over Political Pressure

Walz confirmed that federal prosecutors resigned after the Department of Justice pressured them to investigate "Renee Good's grieving widow," decimating the premier US Attorney's Office team responsible for fraud cases.

Federal Court Contempt Proceedings

The US Attorney for Minnesota recently appeared before a federal judge regarding contempt issues stemming from the office's failure to cooperate, creating significant backlogs that hinder state fraud prosecutions.

Need for Depoliticized Cooperation

Walz argued that combating fraud requires consistent, unified support across political parties and government levels, stating that leaders must not use enforcement as a "political tool to score political points."