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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced immediate backlash Tuesday after claiming credit for federal fraud raids in Minneapolis, prompting a sharp rebuke from FBI Director Kash Patel.
The clash underscores growing political tensions over a sweeping probe into fraud that critics say unfolded under Walz’s watch, as federal authorities now take the lead.
“Come again?” Patel posted on X in response to Walz, who claimed that Tuesday’s raids happened because Minnesota state agencies “caught irregular behavior and reported it.”
“This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”
Walz’s tweet, viewed over a million times in just a few hours, was widely panned by conservatives who pointed out that the massive fraud scandal unfolded under his watch and that the public pressure was ultimately what forced him to drop his re-election bid for governor.
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“Arsonist masquerading as a firefighter,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X.
“The main problem Tim Walz has now is that no one – Republican or Democrat – takes him seriously,” Republican operative and Trump 2020 communications director Tim Murtaugh posted on X. “He’s proven that he’s that much of a boob.”
“The same guy who spent a whole hearing dodging questions about $9 BILLION in fraud in Minnesota and talking about ICE instead is now praising fraud control,” the Republican-led House Oversight Committee posted on X. “Tomorrow, we will pass legislation in the Committee to make sure it never happens again. Sit this one out, Tim.”
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“.@GovTimWalz is a stolen valor POS,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X, referencing past criticisms of Walz’s military record that surfaced during the 2024 presidential campaign. “This is par for the course.”
“Well, the American people know we can actually thank @nickshirleyy and @VP,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., posted on X.
Others on social media pointed to an X post from the city of Minneapolis assuring citizens that it is not involved in the raids.
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Federal authorities raided more than 20 locations, including childcare facilities, in Minneapolis on Tuesday as part of a sweeping fraud investigation into largely Somali-owned businesses, sources confirmed to Fox News.
“Today the FBI with federal, state and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” a Department of Justice spokesperson said.
Authorities executed 22 federal search warrants in Minnesota on Tuesday morning as part of the operation, which is not immigration-related, sources said.
Fox News Digital’s Bill Melugin and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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