House Committee Subpoenas Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Over COVID-Era Nonprofit Fraud Allegations

(TJV) The House Education and the Workforce Committee has subpoenaed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, in connection with a nonprofit in his state accused of defrauding the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feeding Our Future (FOF), a Minnesota-based nonprofit, allegedly misused $250 million in taxpayer funds meant to provide meals for children during the pandemic. The organization is accused of fabricating the names of children who were supposedly receiving meals. More than 70 individuals tied to the group have been charged, and five have already been convicted of fraud.

Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education Committee, issued subpoenas for several officials, including Walz, Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Agriculture Inspector General Phyllis Fong. In her letter to the governor, Foxx stated that public comments from Walz and his representatives suggest that they were aware of, or involved in, the Minnesota Department of Education’s administration of the Federal Child Nutrition Program (FCNP) and the subsequent fraud.

Governor Walz has until September 18 to provide the committee with documents and information relevant to the investigation. The subpoenas were first reported by NBC News.

This is not the first time House Republicans have targeted Walz or Vice President Harris since their campaign for the White House began. GOP lawmakers are also probing Walz’s potential ties to China and Harris’s handling of border and migration policies.