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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota announced on Monday that he is stepping back from his campaign for a third term. His decision comes in response to harsh criticism regarding his handling of a significant welfare assistance fraud scandal plaguing the state, following his unsuccessful bid as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024.
“The political gamesmanship we’re seeing from Republicans is only making that fight harder to win,” Walz charged in a statement, per Fox News.
“But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” the governor added. “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.”
“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” the governor announced.
Governor Tim Walz began his campaign for a third four-year term in Minnesota back in September. Recently, however, he has come under significant scrutiny from President Donald Trump, Republicans, and even some Democrats, primarily due to a massive theft scandal that has emerged in a state known for its commitment to good governance.
Since 2022, over 90 individuals—many from Minnesota’s sizable Somali community—have been charged in what is being called the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in the nation. The total amount of money allegedly pilfered through fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers, and Medicaid services is still being calculated, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota has indicated that the scale of the fraud could surpass $1 billion.
Prosecutors reveal that some of those who have already pleaded guilty in this case used the stolen funds to purchase luxury cars, real estate, jewelry, and take international vacations. Some of the funds have even been traced overseas, raising concerns that they may have ended up in the hands of Islamic terrorists, Fox reported.
“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.
The governor took steps to halt certain suspected fraudulent payments and called for an external audit of the state’s Medicaid billing.
Meanwhile, Trump consistently criticized Walz as “incompetent,” and during Thanksgiving, he used a derogatory term for individuals with developmental disabilities to refer to the governor.
The scandal, which captured significant national attention over the past two months, gained even more traction in recent weeks after a video was released by 23-year-old YouTube content creator Nick Shirley. In his video, Shirley accused Somali-run daycare centers of widespread fraud.
Just days later, the Trump administration took action by freezing federal child-care funding to Minnesota, Fox noted further.
Walz criticized the Trump administration after the Trump administration announced the funding freeze. “This is Trump’s long game,” Walz wrote Tuesday in a post on X.
“We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue — but this has been his plan all along,” he added. “He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz wrote.
In a separate post Wednesday morning, Walz accused President Trump of “using an issue he doesn’t give a damn about as an excuse to hurt working Minnesotans.”
The Department of Health and Human Services froze child care payments to Minnesota earlier Tuesday.
Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill said he demanded an audit from the Walz administration following allegations raised in Shirley’s video.
O’Neill said all payments from HHS’s Administration for Children and Families to states nationwide will now require prior justification along with receipts or photo documentation.
