A slew of audits expressing concern over agencies in his home state has Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) facing criticism that he isn’t doing enough to hold his department heads accountable.
Judy Randall, the nonpartisan head of Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor, said that multiple state agencies under the Walz administration have repeatedly downplayed and ignored looming oversight failures, according to a CNN report. Randall noted she isn’t aware of a single agency employee or leader who has been fired or disciplined as a result of the watchdog office’s stunning reports.
GOP critics said the problems ultimately flowed from the governor’s mansion.
“When he is not holding any commissioners responsible, then yes, Gov. Walz is responsible for the fraud that has been ongoing in the state of Minnesota,” said Lisa Demuth, Minnesota’s state House GOP leader, per the outlet. “It falls squarely on his shoulders.”
One audit released in June faulted the state’s Department of Labor and Industry and Department of Revenue for failing to vet recipients of the bonus given to people working front-line jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic properly. It found that roughly 40% of Minnesota residents who received the benefit may not have been qualified to receive it.
After the audit’s report, Randall said the agencies responded that it “disagreed with every single thing we said.” The DLI and DOR are led by Walz appointees Nicole Blissenbach and Paul Marquart, respectively.
A second audit released the same month confirmed shocking failures from the Minnesota Department of Education to oversee millions of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program grant funds allocated to the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future.
The organization led a host of groups supposedly spearheading efforts to feed low-income children across the state. Instead, it became embroiled in the country’s largest pandemic fraud scheme, ripping at least $250 million off of federal funding. The recent report from the auditor’s office came after the DOJ and the FBI launched investigations into the matter, eventually leveling federal criminal charges against at least 70 people.
Randall told CNN that the MDE, led by Walz-appointed Commissioner Willie Jett, has been dismissive of the report’s findings.
“That’s not what MDE is about,” Jett said when pressed on if the MDE had disciplined any personnel.
While Walz conceded the audit provided a “fair critique,” he told the Minnesota Star Tribune earlier this year, he said that “there’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal.”
Another audit released in April found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division failed to follow critical conflict-of-interest policies. Additionally, the DHS failed to complete financial assessments for more than 40% of grants (worth tens of millions of dollars) that the agency handed out, according to the audit. The review further indicated the DHS had not followed through with recommendations made in 2021 after state auditors reported similar findings.
Brooke Cunningham, who leads the DHS, is another Walz appointee.
Republicans in Minnesota say Walz has failed to hold the state’s commissioners to a high standard of accountability.
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“The governor’s appointees across the board at almost all agencies have been hostile and uncooperative when citizens are seeking transparency and oversight through the legislative auditor,” said Republican state Sen. Mark Koran, the vice chairman of the state’s bipartisan legislative audit commission. “The hostility is led by Gov. Walz.”
However, Walz’s office said it had “implemented the vast majority of their suggestions” and that the governor “always take their advice and recommendations seriously.”