House GOP report faults Walz, Ellison on fraud response
A GOP-controlled U.S. House Oversight Committee led by Rep. James Comer issued a report accusing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of ignoring or slow-walking warnings about Medicaid and child care fraud.[1]
Former state Department of Human Services commissioners Jodi Harpstead and Tony Lourey told the committee they had briefed Walz's chief of staff and that Harpstead regularly forwarded fraud reports to the attorney general's office.[1] The report also alleges Minnesota retaliated against whistleblowers who raised fraud concerns.[1] Ellison's office said he lacks criminal jurisdiction over the child care assistance program.[1] The office added its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has brought more than 340 Medicaid fraud cases and called the committee's report politically motivated and factually inaccurate.[1] Walz's spokesperson dismissed the committee and its report as a "joke" and said it was a distraction from other national controversies.[1]
The committee said warnings about Medicaid and the Child Care Assistance Program date to 2019 and were raised repeatedly to state officials.[1] Comer's Republican-led panel argued state leaders ignored or slow-walked probes and failed to act aggressively on alleged fraud.[1]
Minnesota officials and Ellison's office pushed back, saying jurisdictional limits and active enforcement work undercut the committee's claims and that the report was driven by politics rather than new facts.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- A GOP-controlled U.S. House Oversight Committee chaired by Rep. James Comer issued a report accusing Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison of ignoring or slow-walking fraud warnings in Medicaid and CCAP dating back to 2019.
- Former DHS Commissioners Jodi Harpstead and Tony Lourey testified they briefed Walz’s chief of staff about fraud concerns and that Harpstead regularly forwarded fraud reports to the Attorney General’s Office.
- Ellison’s office responds that he lacks criminal jurisdiction over CCAP, that his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has brought more than 340 Medicaid fraud cases, and calls the report politically motivated and factually inaccurate.
- Walz’s spokesperson publicly dismissed the committee and its report as a “joke” and a distraction from other national controversies.
- The report also alleges Minnesota retaliated against whistleblowers who raised fraud concerns.
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