Minnesota GOP lawmaker urges Congress to press Walz at fraud hearing: 'Real issues to deal with'

As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are set to testify before Congress on Wednesday morning, a Republican Minnesota lawmaker spoke to Fox News Digital about what they should be asked and what needs to happen next to get to the bottom of the problem. 

"I’m hoping they’re asked directly, 'Governor Walz, why haven’t you taken the corrective actions, and why haven’t you brought your people back? Does that have an impact? Why have you not done that?'" state Sen. Mark Koran said about Walz’s upcoming testimony, pointing to the large remote work force that likely contributed to the lack of oversight in the scandal that prosecutors say could cost taxpayers $9 billion or more. 

"Because he knows — they need to position that question to him because he knows he can’t continue to pander and do what’s right, right? He just can’t."

Ellison’s testimony is likely to include questions from members of Congress about a 2021 audio recording of him meeting with members of the Somali community who would soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

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According to Koran, Ellison has "real issues to deal with" during his testimony on that issue and suggested the recording shows he was offering to "protect" the eventual fraudsters. 

"You know who the clients are of Attorney General Keith Ellison?" Koran said. "All the state agencies. So their attorney is going to go work against what’s right from a statutory requirement to stop them from performing their job? If they were even going to do their job?"

Although Walz announced early this year that he would drop his bid for a third term amid mounting criticism of the fraud scandal, he is still serving as governor, which many of his detractors have said doesn’t show true accountability.

Koran agrees with those who have called on Walz to resign, saying that he would if he had "any morals" but "he won’t," and pointed out that even if Republicans had the super majority needed to impeach Walz, his spot would be taken by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who Koran called "far more radical."

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New findings have continued to trickle out as investigations into the fraud become more prevalent, including a state audit conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor released in January that found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program.

The 2026 regular session of the Minnesota Legislature officially kicked off on Feb. 17, and Koran outlined what Republicans will be focused on in order to reign in the fraud concerns.

"The game plan is really to put pressure on all of them. There are things we could start to do today. We truly do have an interest to do that," Koran said. "You know, we’ve seen what’s hit the headlines; an independent inspector general probably could put together the best plan for that. That doesn’t solve today’s problems, right? That doesn’t solve it. We’ve got to solve it on the front end."

Instead, Koran says the top priority should be a professional services contract with an independent entity "to do eligibility determination" and "use the best of all data available to ensure those eligible receive benefits." But, he argued, Democrats have "been resistant to do any of that."

Speaking about why he thinks the fraud scandal was able to reach the level that it did, Koran said, "I think there's some incompetency. They're certainly willfully complicit."

He continued, "But I think the third element today that is bigger than ever is, our state government is as ineffective in delivering for the citizens of Minnesota than we've ever been in the history of government."

Walz and Ellison will testify at a hearing "Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II" on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. EST.

"Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz’s and Attorney General Ellison’s watch. The House Oversight Committee recently heard sworn testimony from Minnesota state lawmakers who stated that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act to stop this widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns," House Oversight Chair James Comer said in a press release.