The epidemic of fraud perpetrated against Minnesota’s taxpayers under Gov. Walz’ administration has been making national news. It might well be harming his chances in the 2028 presidential campaign. In an aggregation of polling of Democratic contenders, our governor doesn’t even make the list.
Minnesotans, too, are unimpressed by the the governor’s handling of the issue. A KSTP poll released on Friday asked: “Has Gov. Tim Walz done enough to stop fraud in Minnesota?”
Fourteen percent say that he’s done enough, while 69% say he needs to do more.
This is a problem for Gov. Walz. “Our survey asked: Do you think fraud in state programs is the biggest problem in Minnesota?” KSTP reports:
…79% say it’s either the biggest problem or a major problem.
On an issue of major importance to Minnesotans, they don’t think the governor has done enough.
So, on Friday, six years and ten months after taking office, Gov. Waz finally announced his plan to combat the mass theft of Minnesotan’s money. “Governor Tim Walz today announced that Tim O’Malley will join the state as Director of Program Integrity,” his office announced. “A judge, former superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), former FBI agent, and reformer in the archdiocese, O’Malley will work across state government to strengthen fraud prevention and protect taxpayer dollars.”
As my colleague Bill Glahn noted, it isn’t “clear how the duties assigned to the anti-fraud czar differ substantively from those that would have gone to the proposed statewide Office of Inspector General (OIG).” This is the measure which passed the state Senate in May on a bipartisan vote of 60 to 7 before being squashed by DFLers in the House, reportedly on Gov. Walz’ orders.
The Star Tribune gave Gov. Walz’ move a thumbs up:
This isn’t a case of fixing the barn door after the horse has bolted: the horse is staying in an overwater villa with a private pool at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, and all on the Minnesota taxpayer’s dime.
