GOP lawmaker unveils WALZ Act after billions lost in Minnesota fraud scandal-lllllllllllllll
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican lawmaker has reacted to the massive unfolding fraud scandal in Minnesota with legislation aimed at preventing more taxpayer dollars from being wasted at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced the Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions Act, or the "WALZ Act," which would require HHS' Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year.
Under the bill, HHS would no longer have discretion to ignore sudden billing increases that critics say often signal fraud schemes, particularly in large entitlement programs.
The bill comes amid revelations in recent months that Minnesota’s federally funded health and nutrition programs were rife with fraud to the tune of potentially up to $9 billion, federal prosecutors said last week.
Gov. Tim Walz walks near the Minnesota state Capitol in St Paul on Oct. 7, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
Critics have made Walz the face of the scandal, given the fact that concerns over the fraud date back to 2019, when he took office and the inability of the state, which he serves as the top executive, to tackle the problem over the last five years.
"This is on my watch," Walz told reporters on Friday. "I am accountable for this. And more importantly, I am the one that will fix it."
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Miller-Meeks told Fox News Digital the situation in Minnesota represents a "jaw-dropping failure of leadership."
"This is what happens when soft-on-crime Democrats run the show: zero accountability, zero oversight and taxpayers left holding the bag," the Iowa Republican continued. "The WALZ Act is named for a reason, to ensure this level of negligence can never be repeated anywhere else in America. This bill puts hard safeguards in place to protect taxpayer dollars, shut the door on scam artists and bring real accountability back to government programs."
U.S. Capitol at sunset. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
On Monday, a group of 98 Minnesota mayors raised concerns with state leaders and Walz in a letter about their state's fiscal policies, saying they have impacted their cities and residents, noting a disappearing $18 billion surplus and a projected $2.9 billion to $3 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium.
Former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who briefly worked on the Feeding Our Future aspect of the fraud investigation, recently told Fox News Digital the fraud scheme was notable not only for its size, but for how easy it was to carry out.
"Honestly how easy this fraud was to do," Teirab said. "These fraudsters were just saying that they were spending all this money on feeding kids… and they were just making up these PDFs, putting false names into Excel sheets."
Teirab said oversight failures within the Minnesota Department of Education and other agencies played a significant role. He argued that officials had incentives to avoid scrutiny, citing political sensitivities surrounding Minnesota’s Somali community.
"There were huge incentives to just turn the other way," Teirab said. "There’s a sense of, ‘If we say something, are they going to call us racist?’ And that’s exactly what happened."
Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum and Louis Casiano contributed to this report
BANNED' - Clinton Judge Reads Her Verdict - President Donald Trump Has Been Informed That He Just Beat Gavin Newsom...
JUDICIAL RECKONING
The return of national sovereignty and administrative lethality reached a new milestone this Thursday, April 9, 2026. A blockbuster ruling in Los Angeles has left the DNC establishment and globalist elite reeling.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against California’s controversial "No Secret Police Act," blocking the state from prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks. Judge Christina Snyder ruled the law unconstitutional, marking a decisive victory for President Donald J. Trump and the Department of Justice.
The court affirmed the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, stating California cannot discriminate against federal officers while exempting its own law enforcement. Attorney General Pamela Bondi praised the ruling, emphasizing the administration’s zero-tolerance stance on harassment of federal agents.
This decision reflects the 2026 mandate: a legal framework prioritizing the safety of American officers over the sanctuary policies pushed by Governor Gavin Newsom. It signals a sweeping rollback of state overreach in immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, in Texas, a federal jury delivered historic terrorism convictions against nine members of a radical antifa cell. The group was found guilty for a violent 2025 attack on an ICE detention facility that left a police officer shot in the neck.
Ringleader Benjamin Song faces potential life imprisonment after evidence proved the attack was a coordinated assault using explosives and rifles—not the “noise demonstration” the defense claimed. Prosecutors called the verdict a landmark affirmation of Trump’s domestic terror designation.
With Kash Patel at the FBI and Todd Blanche at the DOJ, the dismantling of extremist cells has accelerated. Federal agencies continue to secure detention centers like Prairieland against those attempting to destabilize the republic.
Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to spin the court ruling as a “win,” citing the upheld “No Vigilantes Act.” But the truth remains: the centerpiece of his anti-ICE agenda—the “No Secret Police Act”—has been effectively struck down.
The defeat exposes the weakening foundation of California’s sanctuary policies. While Sacramento prioritizes the “civil rights” of illegal aliens, the Trump administration is defending the constitutional rights of federal officers.
The week closes as a sweeping administrative triumph for the Trump-GOP platform. From Los Angeles courtrooms to Texas jury boxes, real results—not rhetoric—are forging the 2026 midterm shield.
With 5% GDP growth and a secure border, the nation is reclaiming its stability and sovereignty. America moves forward with vigilance, resolve, and a renewed commitment to law and order.
God bless the USA—and the leaders who refuse to bow to the swamp or the radical mob.
oFar Left 'Squad' Member Learns Her Fate As Her Primary Election is Called
Washington D.C. — The far-left “Squad” took another massive hit Tuesday night as Missouri Democrat Rep. Cori Bush was soundly defeated in her primary by challenger Wesley Bell, who led by double digits with 54.9% to Bush’s 41.8%.
Bush, one of the most extreme voices in Congress, joins Rep. Jamaal Bowman as the second Squad member to lose her seat this cycle. Her defeat is a clear rejection of the radical socialist, anti-police, pro-Hamas agenda she has pushed since entering Congress in 2021.
Bush rose to prominence after participating in the Ferguson riots and has spent years promoting false narratives about Michael Brown while calling for defunding the police — even as violent crime soared in her St. Louis district. She has repeatedly aligned herself with pro-Hamas protesters, blamed Israel for the October 7 massacre, and faced controversy over allegedly funneling thousands of campaign dollars to her husband for “security services” while demanding less police protection for her constituents.
Republicans celebrated the win with well-deserved mockery. Pro-Trump comedian Terrance K. Williams posted:
“A ‘BLACK JOB’ IS SOMETHING CORI BUSH DOES NOT HAVE. OH HAPPY DAY! She is the second Squad member to lose her seat! I can’t wait until they are all gone.”
Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who served with Bush on the House Judiciary Committee, sarcastically noted:
“I will miss Cori Bush missing every committee meeting.”
Students for Trump co-founder Ryan Fournier added:
“The Squad’s Cori Bush has LOST her primary. Join me in saying GOOD RIDDANCE! Hamas might be hiring, Cori!”
Even actor Michael Rapaport, a vocal Israel supporter, celebrated:
“Tonight at the rally they said let’s bring back ‘JOY’ to politics and boom CORI BUSH is done with Politics…. I feel JOY all of a sudden.”
This is the second straight blow to the radical Squad. Jamaal Bowman lost his primary earlier after endorsing pro-Hamas demonstrators on college campuses. Both Bush and Bowman blamed their defeats on pro-Israel funding from AIPAC rather than admitting the truth: their extreme, anti-American, and anti-Israel positions have become toxic to voters.
The radical left’s Squad is crumbling because the American people are rejecting their agenda of defunding police, embracing socialism, supporting radical Islamists, and putting foreign interests above American citizens. Voters want secure borders, safe streets, strong economy, and leaders who put America First — not performative radicals who miss committee meetings and push policies that hurt their own districts.
Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, the Republican Party is becoming the party of working Americans, law and order, and common sense. Meanwhile, the Democrat Party continues its death spiral — hemorrhaging voters, losing favorability, and watching its most extreme members get rejected at the ballot box.
Cori Bush’s defeat is not just a loss for one radical congresswoman. It is a rejection of the entire Squad’s toxic ideology. The American people are waking up and choosing sanity over socialism, strength over weakness, and America First over America Last.
More Squad members are on the ballot soon. The trend is clear: radicalism is losing, and the America First movement is winning.
