Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is once again under fire for waste, fraud, and spending abuses as he gears up for what could be an unusually tough reelection battle from a GOP challenger.
Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, announced her candidacy for governor in August. Robbins said she intends to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has not yet indicated whether he will seek another term.
She told the St. Cloud Times she intends to focus on three primary policy areas: financial security, education and economic development.
“I love Minnesota. My husband and I were blessed to raise our three girls here and build our lives here,” Robbins said. “Unfortunately, under (Gov.) Tim Walz, we’ve seen the state really go into decline.”
Robbins, who chairs the Legislature’s Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, said combating fraud is a central focus of her campaign. She told the St. Cloud Times she would seek to address the issue by replacing commissioners leading agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
“We will bring in all new commissioners, and we will make sure that the internal controls (are used),” Robbins said. “We will hold agencies accountable for actually doing kind of the basics that would happen in any private sector business.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson is currently conducting an investigation into fraud within the Minnesota Housing Stabilization Program, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Thompson has indicated that once his review is complete, the total fraud across Minnesota-administered programs—including the Feeding Our Future case—could surpass $1 billion.
Meanwhile, Republicans are also hitting Walz for presiding over a multibillion-dollar deficit.
“With a looming $6 billion deficit, we need to get Minnesota’s finances in shape,” said a March press release from the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
“Based on the recent budgets proposed by Governor Walz and Democrats, they believe the solution is to increase taxes and cut essential services for disabled and vulnerable Minnesotans. At the same time, they keep paying out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to fund undocumented aliens for health care and other benefits,” it adds.
“Senate Republicans, however, are proposing a more common-sense solution–cut wasteful government spending and prioritize taxpayer dollars to ensure they go to ‘Minnesotans First’ instead,” the release continued.
“We recently announced our ‘Cut the Waste’ proposal, which eliminates at least $600 million in fraudulent, wasteful, or unnecessary spending from our state budget. We know that there are even more areas in government where savings can be found and prioritize Minnesotans First,” it adds.
Also, Republicans have blasted Walz for spending $430,000 in taxpayer dollars to prepare for congressional testimony earlier this year, though the left-wing governor blamed the GOP for the expenditure.
“It’s ridiculous,” Walz said when he asked about the legal bill during a break in a Minnesota Board of Pardons hearing in June. “It’s why we asked them to allow us not to be there. Certainly, I would tell you, it’s not where I wanted to spend money. It’s not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved there was nothing there other than using it for grandstanding.”
According to a memo obtained by the Star Tribune, the governor’s office asked the Legislative Advisory Commission—a bipartisan panel of lawmakers—to approve transferring $430,000 from the General Contingent Account to cover the cost of the specialized legal services. The memo outlined the reasons the services were deemed necessary.
“This transfer is to pay outside legal counsel for services rendered in preparation for the June 12, 2025, House Oversight Committee, “A Hearing With Sanctuary State Governors” and for any necessary follow up services.”
KTSP asked the governor if he understands why taxpayers might think that legal bill is excessive.
“Yes, and they should be angry at those folks,” he said, again blaming Republicans for his expenditure.