In the News

Click here to watch Whip Emmer’s remarks.

Whip Emmer: “One billion dollars. That’s how much money has been stolen from the hardworking taxpayers in my home state of Minnesota. And if that’s not egregious enough, some of these taxpayer dollars have allegedly been diverted to Al-Shabaab terrorists. Under the failed leadership of Tim Walz, Minnesota has become a hotbed for fraud. We knew it was bad, but now, thanks to the work of our new U.S. attorney for Minnesota, the true size and scope of the crimes is being brought to light, finally. $250 million in the feeding our children scandal—the largest pandemic fraud case, by the way, in the country. $14 million robbed by a woman who fraudulently diagnosed Somali children with autism, then billed the taxpayer for services that were never provided. Over $5 million stolen by individuals falsely claiming to provide housing assistance to those in need. These are just some of the fraud schemes that have been federally charged, and I want to emphasize that because our failed governor tried to claim he’s been prosecuting. He hasn’t even been investigating! There are even more under investigation, by the way, including 80 autism clinics currently under investigation. Career fraud prosecutor and former Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson said the amount of fraud ‘takes my breath away.’ Even the New York Times admitted that the fraud in Minnesota is ‘staggering in its scale and brazenness.’ Between the meals, housing, and autism therapy fraud cases, 86 people have been charged. Of those 86, 78 are of Somali descent. Let me be clear: It is not racist to call out criminal behavior, and we’re going to not cower to baseless labels while Minnesotans—including law-abiding Somali-Americans—get robbed blind. While Tim Walz refuses to take accountability for the fraud he created and enabled, President Trump is committed to justice for the crimes against the taxpayers of Minnesota, and I am too. I want to thank Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for launching an investigation into this important issue. Minnesotans deserve answers and accountability, and we’re not going to rest until they get both. And thank God for President Trump raising this because no one was covering it. We’ve been sounding the alarm on this fraud for over three years. No one in the room and no one back at home was reporting how bad this is. Finally, because of our president raising the issue, people are talking about it. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what our conference chair talked about this morning. My wife Jacquie and I are praying for the family of Sarah Bergstrom as they grieve this infuriating and unfathomable loss. We’re also praying for Andrew Wolfe as he continues to fight for his life. These two guardsmen are heroes who answered the call to keep this city safe. Justice must be executed swiftly for this heinous and targeted attack.”