U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has joined the growing number of official voices urging Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to resign in the wake of massive welfare fraud in his state.
Walz has been under fire in recent weeks following the uncovering of a billion dollar fraud scheme that funneled federal taxpayer funds to various groups including Somali immigrants with ties to al Shabaab, a Somali-based al Qaeda affiliate.
McMahon sent Walz a scathing letter on Dec. 15, accusing the Minnesota governor of carelessness and lack of oversight that has “attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country.”
🚨 MAJOR BREAKING: Linda McMahon just CAUGHT Minnesota engaging in massive education fraud.
Formally calls for Gov. Tim Walz to RESIGN for dereliction of duty.
“Ghost students” received millions of taxpayer dollars and POCKETED the cash… 😲
“I implore you to RESIGN and…
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) December 16, 2025
McMahon’s letter focused on findings from the Dept. of Education that uncovered fraud in Minnesota’s college system.
According to Fox News Digital, the Trump administration has announced that it thwarted more than $1 billion in student aid fraud during the past year, by preventing suspected “bot” and “ghost students” from obtaining federal loans.
In her letter to Walz, McMahon explains that nearly 2,000 “ghost” students were found in Minnesota, writing, “We call these fraudsters ‘ghost students’ because they were not ID-verified and often did not live in the United States, or they simply did not exist.”
“In Minnesota, 1,834 ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans. They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest — without attending the college at all,” McMahon added.
McMahon accuses Walz of failing to stop a “massive scandal of welfare fraud” that encompasses nearly every major federal assistance program, including federal housing benefits, education aid, food stamps, small-business relief, and even programs meant to support elderly Americans and children with autism.
The Secretary of Education wrote, “Shame on you, Governor Walz, for allowing this to happen — and for benefiting from it,” and ended her letter, saying, “Given your dereliction of the office entrusted to you by Minnesotans, I implore you to resign and make way for more capable leadership.”
Fox News reports that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also launched a review into how Minnesota has used billions of dollars in federal social services funding, asking for detailed records from the Governor’s office and other state agencies.