The numbers tell a troubling story, and for Minnesota state Representative Kristin Robbins, those numbers add up to a gubernatorial campaign built on accountability.
Robbins, who chairs the Minnesota House’s Fraud Prevention and Oversight Committee, has made her message clear: Minnesota needs “a new governor who’s going to have a no fraud, no excuses culture.” She is pulling no punches in her assessment of Governor Tim Walz’s handling of what federal prosecutors have called the “largest pandemic fraud in the United States.”
“Minnesotans have had billions of our tax dollars stolen by people who are criminals,” Robbins declared, arguing that Walz “has been an absolute failure” in combating fraud during his two terms as governor.
The stakes are high and the details are damning. What began with the first federal charges three years ago has now mushroomed into a case involving upwards of 75 defendants in a $250 million scheme. At the center sits a nonprofit called Feeding our Future, which partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute meals to children during the pandemic.
According to prosecutors, Feeding our Future and affiliated food distribution sites raked in millions by submitting fake meal counts and invoices, exploiting a program designed to help hungry children during an unprecedented health crisis. The alleged fraud represents not just a failure of oversight, but a betrayal of public trust during a time when Minnesotans needed their government to work.
Robbins has made this issue her legislative priority since taking the committee chair position last January. Even during legislative recess, she has continued holding monthly hearings because, as she puts it, “this issue is so enormous, we still don’t have our arms around it.”
The investigation has taken an even more concerning turn. The U.S. Treasury is now examining whether tax dollars from Minnesota’s public assistance programs found their way to Al-Shabab, a Somali-based affiliate of al Qaeda that the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Many of the charged defendants are of Somali descent, and Minnesota has the largest Somali population of any state in the nation.
Robbins is one of several leading contenders in a crowded Republican primary field, all hoping to face Walz next November as the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee seeks a third term as governor. The political pressure on Walz has intensified in recent weeks, with state and national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, pointing to the fraud investigations as evidence of failed leadership.
For Robbins, the path forward is straightforward. She believes Minnesota deserves leadership that will prioritize fraud prevention and create systems that protect taxpayer dollars rather than leave them vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
The question facing Minnesota voters is whether they believe the current administration has done enough to safeguard their money and maintain the integrity of state programs. Robbins is betting they will answer that question at the ballot box, and she is positioning herself as the candidate who will ensure such massive fraud never happens again under her watch.
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