A member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet is calling for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to resign over alleged “dereliction of duty” in the fraud scandals enveloping his state.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Dec. 16 released a letter she sent to Walz, criticizing the governor for the fraud that burgeoned under his tenure.
“Given your dereliction of the office entrusted to you by Minnesotans, I implore you to resign and make way for more capable leadership,” she said in the letter dated Dec. 15, accusing Walz of doing “absolutely nothing” to halt fraud.
Multiple federal investigations are targeting massive, multifaceted fraud schemes. Fraudsters are believed to have bilked billions of taxpayer dollars from government programs designed to help the needy, federal prosecutors have said.
The Epoch Times sought comment from the governor but received no immediate reply. Walz, however, did announce on Dec. 12 that he had appointed a new fraud-prevention “czar.”
Walz, now seeking his third term as governor, has been in office since 2019.
McMahon wrote to Walz: “During that time, your careless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country.
“As President Trump put it, you have turned Minnesota into a ‘fraudulent hub of money laundering activity.’”
At the beginning of 2025, McMahon’s department learned that “fraudulent college applicants, especially concentrated in Minnesota, were gaming the federal postsecondary education system to collect money that was intended for young Americans to help them afford college,” she said.
“We call these fraudsters ‘ghost students’ because they were not ID-verified and often did not live in the United States, or they simply did not exist,” McMahon said.
In Minnesota, 1,834 ghost students received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans. Yet they never attended college at all, she said. In response, her department added fraud-control measures, such as mandatory identity verification for some applicants, blocking more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid theft, she said.
She accused Walz of failing to act to stop criminal schemes that her colleagues in other departments have uncovered. “Scammers have gotten rich off federal housing, education, food stamp, and small business programs, even defrauding assistance for elder care and autistic children,” McMahon wrote.
“Joining these criminals in their schemes have been Minnesota politicians who benefit—both in votes and donations—from the fraudsters’ support,” she said, alleging that “Minnesota’s political elite has turned a blind eye and even helped facilitate the laundering of money that was meant to help America’s least fortunate.”
“Shame on you, Governor Walz, for allowing this to happen—and for benefiting from it. Stop defrauding American taxpayers. No politician is above the law, and my department, alongside every other agency under the leadership of President Trump, will continue to ensure that you will not be able to dodge accountability for your actions,” McMahon wrote.
As of early afternoon Dec. 16, the education secretary was the highest-ranking political figure to publicly call for Walz’s resignation.
Just after Walz’s fraud czar announcement, Republican state representative Kristin Robins, who is seeking the governorship, commented on X: “The Walz fraud prevention program should be his resignation.”
A petition on Change.org also calls for Walz to resign, drawing more than 4,400 supporters so far.
“The lack of effective oversight and accountability under Governor Walz’s watch has led to financial mismanagement and a loss of confidence among the state’s citizens,” the petition says.
