Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who oversaw one of the most spectacular series of fraudulent schemes against any state government in history, has taken responsibility for the $2 billion (and climbing) stolen from Minnesota taxpayers.
“Yes. I take responsibility for everything,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. That includes the Somali fraud, the state’s COVID-19 response, and the problems at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Walz announced that he was naming Tim O’Malley, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) under Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, to oversee efforts to root out the massive fraud uncovered in the state's Medicaid program, as well as other federal and state programs.
Republicans weren't having any of it.
"He failed to root out fraud in his agencies, he failed to hold anyone accountable, he failed to take responsibility for what he allowed to happen, and now he wants to sweep all his failures under the rug," Republican House Speaker and candidate for governor Lisa Demuth said. "The time for program integrity was years ago — now it’s time for accountability.”
GOP floor leader Rep. Harry Niska said Walz had "done nothing to stop" fraud.
“Now, with an election fast approaching and fraud his most serious political vulnerability, the governor is scrambling to paper over his epic failures," Niska said.
"O’Malley will serve as the state’s first head of program integrity and will report directly to Walz," according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
It's far too little too late. Christopher Rufo points out that his investigation (along with co-author Ryan Thorpe) exposed a far deeper problem with the fraud schemes.
"The story has touched a nerve because it busts liberal myths about immigration, anti-racism, and the welfare state," Rufo writes in a piece for City Journal.
Rufo praised the New York Times for its coverage of the fraud itself but calls out the newspaper for failing to grasp the larger issues involved.
Minnesota has long prided itself on its generous welfare programs and reputation for good governance. But after the mass arrival of the new Somali population—many of whom brought with them different attitudes toward government and civil society—these programs became a weak point. George Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis demonstrated that scrutiny could be deflected by making baseless accusations of “racism” against anyone who raised questions about the missing funds.
The uncomfortable truth for Times readers is that all cultures are not equal. Therefore, not all cultures are compatible with all political systems. In this case, the Somali criminal enterprise is incompatible with a generous welfare state, particularly in the context of a racial politics that intimidates whistleblowers and other honest brokers.
Though this story was particular to Minnesota, disruptive mass immigration is a national phenomenon. During the four years of the Biden administration, America imported millions of foreigners, many illegally. Some of these have brought, or are trying to bring, negative aspects of their home culture to the United States.
"The New York Times won’t spell it out in block print, but even devoted liberals are starting to ask questions about the welfare state’s compatibility with mass migration," Rufo writes.
Indeed, Joe Biden's administration gave the left everything they ever dreamed of getting passed. The massive transfers of wealth in the COVID-19 "relief" bills were done without raising taxes and with no regard whatsoever for the public purse.
We're still trying to wrap our heads around the massive fraud in the COVID programs. Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding, with another $123 billion wasted or misspent, totaling 10% of the $4.2 trillion disbursed by the U.S. government at the time of the analysis.
That was in 2023, and the numbers keep climbing. Rufo doesn't think Donald Trump is doing enough to deal with the root problem of the fraud: massive illegal immigration.
The Trump administration claims to be on pace to “shatter” records of forced deportations and so-called self-deportations, but more must be done. The administration should put financial restrictions on illegal immigrants, like requiring proof of legal status for maintaining a bank account; and implement massive remittance taxes to reduce the profitability of illegal immigration and fraud. And it must line up the manpower to turbocharge the prosecution of immigrant fraud, in Minnesota and elsewhere.
That would be a good start.
