House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is escalating his criticism of Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
According to Fox News, Emmers suggested Walz could be forced out of office in handcuffs, even after Walz refused to resign over a sprawling state fraud investigation.
“I think perhaps this is a lot deeper, a lot larger than we knew,” Emmer told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “Tim should do the right thing and resign. And if he doesn’t, I think he might be leaving the offices in cuffs.”
Federal prosecutors are probing alleged widespread fraud within Minnesota’s social programs, particularly scrutinizing the state’s Somali community.
Estimates from U.S. attorneys suggest that as much as $9 billion in state and federal funding could have been misappropriated, though Walz and other state Democrats have dismissed the figures as inflated.
Despite mounting pressure, Walz said during a Tuesday press conference that he would not step down. “Over my dead body will that happen,” he declared when asked about resignation.
The scandal did, however, prompt Walz to drop his bid for a third term. Emmer criticized the governor’s response, arguing that Walz has failed to take full responsibility for the alleged fraud.
“This guy has got to stop acting like a coward, and he’s got to start taking accountability for the fact that he is completely incompetent, and perhaps even complicit, in one of the most breathtaking fraud examples that we’ve ever seen,” Emmer said.
Emmer also attacked Walz’s messaging to the public, noting, “Tim Walz, he said he was running for a third term and that he was going to fight for Minnesota. And then what he did was, he said, ‘Well, I’m not going to run for a third term anymore, but I’m going to fight for Minnesota.’ And he came out the next day, had to have a press conference to say he wasn’t resigning. It’s just wild. He’s coming unglued.”
Walz defended his position during the press conference, stating that he is accountable for the programs in question while criticizing Republican rhetoric. “Republicans want to tell you everybody with brown skin is stealing money or that they’re not welcome here… Right now they are hiding behind a veil of innuendo,” Walz said.
The federal investigation has already resulted in multiple charges.
Last month, the Department of Justice announced six people were charged for schemes targeting autism programs and Housing Stabilization Services, and last year over $240 million was allegedly stolen from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
