WASHINGTON — The highest-ranking national Republican from Minnesota said he hopes embattled Gov. Tim Walz (D) ends his tenure in handcuffs due to a fraud scandal engulfing the state.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) blasted Walz over the rampant social-services fraud under his watch and the accusations of retaliation that state whistleblowers leveled against his administration.
“He has not held anyone in his administration accountable, and he’s a coward,” Emmer told The Post during a brief interview last Thursday.
“He refuses to take accountability for himself. I think he should resign; this is so bad. And regardless, I hope he leaves the office in cuffs because what he’s done is criminal.”
Emmer made similar remarks to Fox News.
Walz, once the Democratic nominee for vice president, stunned observers last week by announcing he was dropping his bid for reelection to a third term as governor.
Walz then delivered a curt address to the press, blaming his abrupt withdrawal on the fallout from the growing welfare scandal. The governor rankled local media by declining to field questions from reporters.
The following day, Walz held a second press conference in which he addressed calls for him to resign early, throwing a fit.
“You can make all your requests for me to resign – over my dead body will that happen,” Walz fumed.
Emmer was taken aback by Walz’s performance during that combative second press conference.
“How often have you seen that?” Emmer asked. “It’s just a bizarre set of events, and he was totally coming unglued; he was spiraling out of control in that second press conference.”
The Post contacted Walz’s office for comment.
The House majority whip speculated that Walz’s decision to abruptly withdraw from reelection is because the welfare fraud scandal might even be worse than what’s publicly known.
“I think it’s worse than we believe it is. And I think he knows that,” Emmer claimed. “Keep in mind, we’ve been trying to sound the alarm on this for years, and nobody in the Twin Cities media would report it.”
Over the past four years, the Justice Department has charged 98 people, 85 of whom are of Somali descent, and 64 of whom have been convicted.
Theft of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota includes what officials have dubbed the largest known COVID-19 fraud in the country — the Feeding Our Futures scandal.
Overall, at least $1 billion worth of Minnesota taxpayer dollars is believed to have been swindled, with Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson estimating it could amount to over $9 billion since 2018.
Emmer participated in the GOP-led House Oversight Committee’s hearing on fraud in Minnesota last Wednesday, during which Republican state lawmakers recalled how whistleblowers alleged retaliation and claimed that the Walz administration defanged watchdogs overseeing social programs.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has invited Walz to appear during a follow-up hearing on the Minnesota fraud scandal slated for next month.
