Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced Wednesday that his committee is launching hearings into the rapidly expanding Minnesota Somali fraud scandal—and Democrats should brace themselves.
The first hearing, scheduled for January 7, will feature testimony from three Minnesota Republican lawmakers who have been sounding the alarm while state officials looked the other way. A second hearing is set for February 10, and this one could get uncomfortable fast: Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have been ‘asked’ to appear and explain themselves before Congress.
Happy New Year, Tim and Keith!
In his announcement, it seems like Comer already has an idea of what has happened. He said Walz and Ellison “have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs,” and promised “Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve.”
NEW: House Oversight Committee Chairman @RepJamesComer announces the committee’s first hearing into the MN Somali fraud scandal will be on January 7th & will feature MN state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on the fraud & were allegedly ignored. MN Gov. Tim Walz & AG Keith… pic.twitter.com/jrSFEa7GKM
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 31, 2025
NEW: House Oversight Committee Chairman @RepJamesComer announces the committee’s first hearing into the MN Somali fraud scandal will be on January 7th & will feature MN state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on the fraud & were allegedly ignored. MN Gov. Tim Walz & AG Keith Ellison are being invited to testify before the committee in a second hearing on February 10th.
“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs,” Comer writes. “Next week, we will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this fraud—and whose warnings were ignored by the Walz administration. This misconduct cannot be swept aside, and Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve.”
Interest in the scandal—where an estimated $9 billion was funneled into sham Minnesota businesses, largely within the Somali community—hit a boiling point earlier this week after a viral video by independent journalist Nick Shirley, 23. The footage shows Shirley visiting publicly funded daycare centers only to find many of them empty—no children, no activity, just taxpayer money flowing into thin air.
With the spotlight now blazing on Walz and Ellison, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved in. Agents descended on Minneapolis earlier this week, launching door-to-door sweeps aimed at rooting out the so-called “ghost” daycares.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem made it clear this wasn’t a one-off, promising more sweeps to come. After years of denial and delay at the state level, federal authorities are finally doing what Minnesota Democrats refused to do: follow the money and shut down the fraud.
On Tuesday, Jim O’Neill, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, declared that childcare payments to Minnesota would be halted due to fraudulent activities. “We believe the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake daycares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the past decade,” O’Neill said in his video statement.
It’s uncertain if Tim Walz and Keith Ellison will have the courage to appear before the Oversight Committee in February, but Comer has pledged to continue seeking accountability. He said: “Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable.”
Yes, by all means, conduct your oversight, Chairman Comer. But if you evidence these two jokers were somehow complicit in this fraud, make a beeling to the DOJ with a criminal referal while Donald Trump is still in office. We don’t want them walking free.
