WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) joined his Republican Senate colleagues in demanding accountability from outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz amid widespread reports of fraud and abuse of federal funding in Minnesota.

Graham and his colleagues slammed Governor Walz over claims of the mishandling of billions of taxpayer dollars. They called on the governor to submit a report to Congress on the steps the State of Minnesota is taking to comply with the federal government’s order to conduct an audit of the federal funds in question and what measures, if any, the state took to try to prevent this widespread abuse of taxpayer dollars.

“We write to express serious concern regarding recent reports and federal investigations alleging widespread fraud and misuse of federal funds within Minnesota’s state-administered child care assistance programs. … Some authorities estimate that billions in federal funds across various programs, including child care, nutrition, Medicaid, and housing assistance, may have been misappropriated since 2018,” the senators wrote.

Graham and his colleagues continued, “Under the leadership of President Trump, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has acted promptly to freeze child care payments to Minnesota pending verification and audits of how funds were used. The Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse, and the United States Senate is exercising its duty to ensure proper stewardship of federal taxpayer dollars for child care programs, and we take this responsibility very seriously.”

This effort is in conjunction with the Trump Administration, which has paused federal child care funding to Minnesota and other states pending verification and audits of how funds were used. There is also a federal investigation into large-scale fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs.

In addition to Graham, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), John Thune (R-South Dakota), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jim Banks (R-Indiana), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Ashley Moody (R-Florida), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Rick Scott (R-Florida), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Todd Young (R-Indiana), John Curtis (R-Utah), Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania), Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Roger Wicker (R-Missouri), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).  

Read the full letter here.  

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