Key takeaways from House hearing with Walz, Ellison on Minnesota fraud
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told lawmakers that fraud "happened on my watch," but defended his administration's handling of the allegations.
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Politics Key takeaways from the House hearing on Minnesota fraud with Tim Walz and Keith Ellison By Graham Kates Graham Kates Reporter Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com Read Full Bio Graham Kates Updated on: March 4, 2026 / 2:58 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the state's Attorney General Keith Ellison faced questions from the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, in a hearing that focused on the state's massive fraud scandal and the Trump administration's recent immigration surge. The questions largely fell along party lines. Republicans asked about the fraud scandal, while Democrats focused on the immigration crackdown, which the White House also portrayed as a campaign against fraud. The committee released a report before the hearing saying Walz and Ellison covered up evidence of fraud in the state. The committee's chair, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said testimony and documents showed Walz and Ellison "lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns." The report claims the Minnesota Department of Education paid into a $250 million fraud scheme by the nonprofit Feeding Our Future despite "identifying serious program deficiencies." Walz said the fraud "happened on my watch, whether it predated me or not," but defended his administration's handling of allegations, and cooperation with federal investigations. He and Ellison were grilled repeatedly about when they first learned about fraud in the state, and how they addressed those allegations. Walz and Ellison defended handling of fraud allegations, criticized Trump immigration crackdown Walz said in his opening statement that the Trump administration "singled out and targeted" Minnesota "for political retribution at an unparalleled scale." "Under the ...
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