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One day after announcing he was scrapping his re-election bid, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota vocally pushed back against calls by Republican state lawmakers to resign amid the state’s sweeping fraud scandal.
“I’m not going anywhere. And you can make all your requests for me to resign. Over my dead body will that happen,” Walz told reporters as he answered questions for the first time since his stunning re-election announcement.
The embattled governor ended his bid for an unprecedented third term amid stinging criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over his handling of his state’s massive welfare assistance fraud scandal.
But a combative Walz trained his verbal attacks on President Donald Trump and Minnesota Republicans. Pointing to Republicans in the state legislature, the governor warned: “Expect for the next 11 months for me to ride you like you’ve never been ridden, to make sure that you’re doing your job.”
FRAUD FALLOUT FORCES WALZ TO ABANDON GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION BID
Gov. Tim Walz, at a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in St. Paul, announced he’s dropping his re-election bid. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Pointing to the controversy, the governor reiterated that “the buck stops with me. I’m accountable for this. And because of that accountability, I’m not running for office again.”
“I have a year to continue to improve on a record that I think will stand up against anybody’s, a record that has made Minnesota better,” Walz argued.
Walz launched his Minnesota re-election bid in September, but in recent weeks has been facing a barrage of incoming political fire over the large-scale theft, under his watch as governor, in a state that has long prided itself on good governance.
THE POLITICAL RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ
More than 90 people — most from Minnesota’s large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scope of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion.
Prosecutors said some of the dozens that have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.
“This is on my watch, I am accountable for this and, more importantly, I am the one that will fix it,” Walz told reporters last month, as he took responsibility for the scandal.
The governor took actions to stop some of the suspected fraudulent payments, and ordered an outside audit of Medicaid billing in the state.
But Trump repeatedly blasted Walz as “incompetent” and, during Thanksgiving, used a slur for developmentally disabled people to describe the governor.
GOP LAWMAKER UNVEILS WALZ ACT AFTER BILLIONS LOST IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
The scandal, which grabbed plenty of national attention over the past two months, went viral the past two weeks following the release of a video by 23-year-old YouTube content creator Nick Shirley, who alleged widespread fraud at Somali-run daycare centers. Days later, the Trump administration froze federal childcare funding to Minnesota.
Walz, speaking after touting the state’s new family leave program, pointed to the Trump administration and charged, “We are under assault like no other time in our state’s history because of a petty, vile administration that doesn’t care about the well-being of Minnesotans. My job is to protect the well-being of Minnesotans.”
WILL MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL FORCE RESIGNATIONS?
Some Democrats in Minnesota and nationally are hoping longtime Sen. Amy Klobuchar will jump into the governor’s race.
Klobuchar, who was re-elected in 2024 to a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate, is receiving calls urging her to run for governor, sources in Minnesota confirmed to Digital.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar met on Sunday with Gov. Tim Walz ahead of his Monday announcement that he would drop his 2026 re-election bid, according to sources. (Bloomberg/Getty)
And sources told FOX 9 in Minnesota that Klobuchar is considering making a gubernatorial bid but has yet to make any final decision.
Walz met Sunday with Klobuchar to discuss his decision to drop his re-election bid, a source familiar confirmed to .
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Asked about his conversation with the senator, Walz told reporters, “I spoke with a lot of key allies…And Senator Klobuchar was one of those conversations.”
And Walz, confident a Democrat will succeed him in November’s election, said, “I think that we have a very deep bench.”
‘ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report
