Minnesota Governor and failed candidate for vice president, Tim Walz, was slapped with a subpoena from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), related to an ongoing investigation into the Feeding Our Future (FOF) scandal. According to investigators, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which oversaw the controversial program during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed FOF to allegedly misappropriate $250 million meant for feeding children.
For context, despite widespread criticism, Walz denied any wrongdoing and claimed that there was insufficient due diligence. The subpoena seeks additional information on MDE’s decisions, communications with federal agencies, and any internal investigations.
In any case, the subpoena notice let Tim Walz know that he was under investigation, and laid out the suspicion against him. The letter read, “The actions taken by you and other executive officers were insufficient to address the massive fraud.”
Reacting to these allegations, Gov. Tim Walz denied any wrongdoing in a June 2024 statement. The failed VP candidate stated, “This wasn’t malfeasance. [Employees] simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should have.”
In a letter from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Virginia Foxx hinted that this scandal may promote new laws, saying, “The fraud in the FCNP is within the Committee’s jurisdiction and is a subject on which legislation could be had.”
As we reported, Guhaad Hashi Said, a close associate of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), has pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and misappropriating $2.9 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through his nonprofit, Advance Youth Athletic Development, from 2020 to 2022.
Explaining the scandal, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson described the massive scale of the fraud. Thompson stated. “The conviction of the 52nd defendant in the Feeding our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota.”