Vice president and White House fraud czar JD Vance has asked the Justice Department to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison over their handling of Medicaid fraud complaints.
Vance made the referral after receiving a 205-page report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee alleging senior Minnesota officials failed to address widespread fraud in federally funded social services programs. The committee estimated almost $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds were misused.
“Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice,” Vance wrote on X on Tuesday.
Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Services have said fraud is being addressed in the state, but Walz called the estimated amounts “sensationalized.”
“The allegations in the House Republican report are unfounded, and Vice President Vance’s referral is a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests,” Ellison said in a statement issued to MS NOW by his office. “It is deeply troubling to see official powers and public resources diverted away from serving the people and instead aimed at pursuing political adversaries. That is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.”
In the report, the committee alleged Walz’s and Ellison’s offices were made aware of fraud tips but went to “great lengths to keep them quiet, including intimidation through regular check-ins with high-level agency officials and threats of surveillance.”
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the referral and did not confirm if it was pursuing an investigation. A referral from Congress or another official does not automatically mean the DOJ must pursue an investigation.
However, the DOJ under former Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rarely failed to act on matters that President Donald Trump has declared important to him.
Trump nominated Blanche for the position permanently Monday.