What does Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's departure mean for the state's efforts to fight fraud?

Jessie Van Berkel, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 6, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz’s decision not to seek a third term could shake up fraud-fighting efforts, as well as the dynamics of the coming election season.

His announcement on Monday comes as local and national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have condemned the Democratic governor for failing to prevent fraud in state programs.

Investigators continue to uncover schemes to defraud various social services programs, and federal prosecutors have said billions of dollars could have been stolen.

Meanwhile, the Walz administration has been rolling out new fraud-prevention efforts, many of which are still ramping up.

The governor, who has a year left to cement his legacy on combating fraud, said Jan. 5 that there’s more to do on the issue.

“Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest 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 want to prey on our differences,” Walz said. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.”

His recent steps to fight fraud include:

The same day as Walz’s announcement, state officials said they were adding another measure. State investigators and BCA agents would immediately start performing unannounced on-site compliance checks at day care centers participating in the Child Care Assistance Program after allegations of fraud in that program.

Legislators also passed a number of fraud-prevention measures last year, such as bolstering provider oversight and allowing state agencies to share data on suspected fraud and withhold payments when there is evidence of fraud. Those changes will continue with the next administration.

But it remains to be seen whether the next governor will curtail any of the fraud initiatives Walz enacted using his executive authority, and what new measures they may institute.

A new top executive also typically means changes in state agency leadership.

At the Department of Human Services, which oversees many of the programs fraudsters have exploited, leadership has been in limbo for almost a year. Former Commissioner Jodi Harpstead left in February and Shireen Gandhi, who had been the agency’s deputy commissioner, has held the position of “temporary commissioner” since then.

The Walz administration has emphasized the change in leadership at that agency, saying in a past statement that Gandhi and recently appointed DHS Inspector General James Clark bring an “emphasis on fraud prevention and program integrity.”

Walz said Jan. 5 his administration has been taking “fast, decisive action to solve this crisis.”

That’s not how Republicans see it.

GOP members of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee — including committee Chair Kristin Robbins, who is running for governor — said in a statement that Walz has “consistently ignored or downplayed the problem” for years.

Republicans said Walz only paused payments to providers, stopped enrolling new providers in some programs and added pre-payment review after “the staggering scale of the problem could no longer be ignored.”

Lawmakers worked together on fraud-prevention measures in the last legislative session, and the GOP members of the House Fraud Prevention Committee said they will continue to work with those “serious about rooting out fraud” in the upcoming session.

Even with Walz out of the 2026 election lineup, political clashes over fraud will likely continue at the State Capitol and on the campaign trail.

While Democrats who step into the race may try to distance themselves from the debacle, Republicans said that blame for the fraud fiasco falls broadly on the DFL.

“If Democrats think they can sweep Minnesota’s fraud scandal away by swapping out Tim Walz, they are wrong,” GOP House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuthsaid in a statement.

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