Vice President JD Vance said late Monday that he will refer Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice for a criminal fraud investigation, following findings in a House Oversight Committee report alleging large-scale misuse of federal funds in Minnesota’s social service programs.
The report claims that state officials were aware of widespread fraud and systemic failures that resulted in an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds, along with as much as $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds, being “lost” or placed at “serious risk.” Those figures have prompted renewed scrutiny from Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration’s newly formed anti-fraud task force.
In a letter addressed to Vance, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer called on the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the administration to formally investigate Minnesota’s social service systems.
Vance, who President Donald Trump tapped to serve in a leading role on fraud enforcement efforts, announced the referral publicly on the social platform X. “I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation,” he wrote.
He added, “Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice,” escalating the political stakes surrounding the allegations.
Minnesota officials have pushed back strongly against the claims. Ellison characterized the referral as politically motivated, calling it “a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.” He further warned that diverting public resources toward political adversaries “is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.”
Gov. Walz has previously suggested that fraud investigations in the state are being used as a form of political retaliation and has criticized federal efforts as “absolutely not serious.” Earlier this year, the Trump administration temporarily paused $259.5 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota amid the broader dispute.
In response, Walz proposed a legislative package aimed at strengthening fraud enforcement, including tougher penalties for public fraud and extending the statute of limitations for certain fraud-related crimes to seven years.
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