Minnesota Department of Human Services officials skipped a key hearing this week held by a state House fraud prevention panel, earning criticism from its chairwoman as Gov. Tim Walz separately promised reform to address what he called decades of institutional issues.
The House Fraud Prevention Committee hearing was scheduled to discuss the roadmap to program integrity and fraud prevention, featuring testimony from a retired judge and St. Paul archdiocesan official appointed by Walz to lead the state's program integrity efforts.
What the Right Is Saying
House Fraud Prevention Committee Chair Kristin Robbins expressed sharp criticism of MNDHS for skipping the hearing, calling it unbelievable that officials would not attend a session on the governor's own program integrity report.
"I'm incredibly frustrated that they ghosted us," said Robbins, a suburban Minneapolis Republican who is also running for governor. "What was more shocking is, as we gaveled out, the next hearing was coming in, a Ways and Means Committee hearing, and all the DHS people walked in the door for the next hearing because they wanted to ask for money from the state... but they couldn't bother to show up to react to the governor's own program integrity report."
Robbins said it was the second such hearing that MNDHS has ignored, and she has sent a letter to the department demanding answers. She previously said state leaders "knew this was going on and they allowed it to continue."
"She may not always be able to attend, but there are a lot of employees at that agency [including] someone who can speak to periodic data matching should have been here for that portion of the hearing," Robbins said.
What the Left Is Saying
Gov. Tim Walz defended his administration's approach to addressing fraud in Minnesota's human services programs, saying he is working with newly appointed Program Integrity Director Tim O'Malley to root out systemic problems. During a press availability, Walz compared the department's issues to a Frankenstein monster that has had additional complexity added over decades rather than being properly fixed.
"When I came here, the discussion was, if you recall clear back in 2019, that reforms around MNDHS as a large organization that does multiple things that we needed to think about modernizing," Walz said. He outlined a topline plan to modernize how Medicaid is administered, strengthen oversight of enrollment by centralizing eligibility decisions, and fund a comprehensive study examining the roles of state, counties and tribal governments.
The Walz administration pointed out that MNDHS has testified before the committee eight times since February 2025, and said the department supported O'Malley's work. A spokesperson noted the agency had a prior commitment on Monday morning.
What the Numbers Show
Monday's hearing was the 19th held by the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee since it began in February 2025. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has testified before the committee eight times, according to a spokesperson. This was the second time the department was unavailable to attend at the chair's request.
The hearing featured testimony from Tim O'Malley, a retired judge whom Walz appointed as state director of Program Integrity. In his testimony, O'Malley said Minnesota has experienced extensive, well-documented fraud in programs designed to serve the state's most vulnerable residents.
"The state's ineffectiveness in combating that fraud has wasted taxpayer dollars, enriched criminals, eroded public confidence, and impeded the delivery of essential services to Minnesotans in need," O'Malley said.
The Bottom Line
The clash between the House Fraud Prevention Committee and MNDHS highlights ongoing tension over how Minnesota addresses fraud in its social services programs. Robbins plans to contact MNDHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi about the no-show, while Walz has outlined a reform agenda focused on modernizing Medicaid administration and centralizing eligibility decisions. The governor's office says the department supports O'Malley's work, but Republicans argue MNDHS should be more accountable to the Legislature. What happens next will likely depend on whether the department appears at future hearings and whether Walz's reform proposals gain legislative traction.