Rep. Fischbach, Minnesota GOP Delegation Call for Walz & Ellison Resignation Over Fraud Involvement

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) sent a letter along with Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-06), Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01), and Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) to Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison, calling for their immediate resignations from office over the findings of a new House Oversight Committee report outlining that both state officials have known about the rampant fraud in Minnesota since 2019. The report also exposed that both officials silenced and punished whistleblowers for trying to sound the alarm. "The House Oversight Committee's report strips away any doubt that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison not only turned a blind eye to the fraud, they actively protected it. Since 2019, they have silenced and intimidated whistleblowers who tried to sound alarms," said Rep. Fischbach. "Their negligence has turned Minnesota into a playground for criminals. If Walz & Ellison have any respect left for the Minnesotans they betrayed, they will resign immediately." “If these allegations are true, Tim Walz or Keith Ellison should leave office in handcuffs. At the very least, they should resign from office in disgrace. Public officials need to be held accountable for allowing billions of taxpayer dollars to be stolen from Minnesotan and American taxpayers. We’ve had enough,” said Congressman Tom Emmer. “The House Oversight Committee’s bombshell report concludes that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison knew about the rampant fraud in Minnesota since 2019 and failed to act, allowing billions in taxpayer dollars to be stolen. Their inaction seriously betrayed the trust of Minnesota’s taxpayers," said Rep. Stauber. "I commend Vice President Vance for referring both Walz and Ellison to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation. As the DOJ reviews the evidence, they must resign from office immediately.” “The leaders and officials who are responsible for safeguarding taxpayer dollars have allowed fraud to plague our federally funded assistance programs and must be held accountable,” said Rep. Finstad. “It is absolutely unacceptable that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison were not only aware of the fraud running rampant throughout our state but also possessed the legal and procedural authority to prevent it, ignored and dismissed warnings from employees and whistleblowers, and still repeatedly failed to act. As a result of the inaction of our state’s so-called leaders, billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars were diverted to bad actors instead of helping Minnesotans in need." Congresswoman Fischbach recently introduced the Federal Funds Whistleblower Protection Extension Act to protect taxpayer dollars by expanding federal whistleblower protections to state and local government employees. This legislation protects whistleblowers who report corruption and strictly prohibits government officials from retaliating. The introduction of this bill followed a House Oversight Committee hearing that Representative Fischbach waived onto, where it was confirmed by Minnesota State Representatives that there are currently no criminal penalties for government officials who retaliate against those who speak out against funding mismanagement. Fischbach continued , "It is more apparent now than ever that we need criminal penalties for state officials who punish whistleblowers. If Walz and Ellison had listened to these individuals from the start, billions of taxpayer dollars could have gone to the most vulnerable Minnesotans. Walz and Ellison should resign immediately, and if they are found guilty of knowingly retaliating against whistleblowers, they should face jail time." Read the full letter to Walz & Ellison here .