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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Wednesday that "people will be in handcuffs" as fallout grows from expansive fraud allegations under Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s watch.
"President Trump is not going to let Governor Walz off the hook," Leavitt told "Fox & Friends," echoing arguments that responsibility lies with the governor as the alleged fraud occurred under his administration.
Leavitt said the Trump administration has surged federal resources into Minnesota, with multiple agencies conducting investigations tied to the alleged fraud.
Among them, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is conducting door-to-door operations at alleged fraud sites, a key federal effort ICE Director Todd Lyons discussed Tuesday on the Fox News Channel.
ELON MUSK UNLEASHES ON TIM WALZ WITH NEW NICKNAME AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks in the White House press briefing room in Washington, D.C., United States, on Dec. 11 (left); Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice-presidential debate with then-Sen. JD Vance on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City (right). (Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images (left); Michele Crowe/CBS/Getty Images (right))
"This is a top priority for the administration," Leavitt reiterated.
"The Department of Justice, as we speak, is continuing to execute search warrants and subpoenas… The Department of Homeland Security is conducting door-to-door investigations on the ground at potential fraud sites, and they're also conducting continued deportations of illegal aliens in Minnesota's communities."
"We're also not afraid to use denaturalization," she continued. "That's a tool at the president and the Secretary of State's disposal, and it's one this administration has previously used before."
Homeland Security investigators were part of a large fraud investigation on Monday in Minneapolis following the release of a video over the weekend on alleged daycare fraud. (Department of Homeland Security)
The Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Labor Departments are also involved, with one cutting off childcare funding to Minnesota until the investigation is fully explored, another digging into the unemployment insurance program and the third writing a letter demanding Walz hand over the name of every SNAP recipient in the state.
"Our entire administration is working around the clock to get to the bottom of it," Leavitt added.
Gov. Tim Walz, who has come under intense scrutiny since the fraud issue came to light, has publicly acknowledged the problem and pledged to tackle it, saying the situation "is on my watch" and that he is "accountable" for fixing it, even as his administration has questioned some federal estimates regarding the scale of the fraud.
Walz also issued a third-party audit of Medicaid billing through Minnesota's Department of Human Services and paused payments for some services while an audit is underway, according to FOX 9, an affiliate based in St. Paul.
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Walz previously told the outlet in a statement, "We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if they don’t have the backing of the public’s trust. In order to restore that trust, we are pumping the brakes on 14 programs that were created to help the most disadvantaged among us, yet have become the target of criminal activity."
He added, "If you attempt to defraud our public programs and steal taxpayer dollars out from under the people who need them most – you will be stopped, and you will be held accountable."
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
