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WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA will suspend millions of dollars in financial awards to the State of Minnesota and City of Minneapolis in response to fraud investigations in the state.
"Today, @USDA is SUSPENDING FEDERAL FINANCIAL AWARDS to Minnesota and Minneapolis, effective immediately, until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped," Rollins posted to X. "No more handouts to thieves! Time to drain the Minnesota swamp and put American taxpayers first."
The post included a letter addressed to Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in which Rollins cited the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, in which dozens of people have been convicted of stealing millions of dollars from a federal program meant to feed children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The widespread and systemic fraud associated with federal benefit programs in the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis demonstrate an inability to handle federal resources without additional oversight and accountability measures in place," Rollins wrote in the letter.
The letter states that the USDA will suspend all active and future awards to the state of Minnesota and city of Minneapolis, totaling more than $129 million. The letter also requires the state and city to "provide the USA with payment justifications for all federal dollar expenditures from January 20, 2025 to the present" and require similar payment justifications in the future.
The state and city have not yet responded publicly to Secretary Rollins' post.
Enough is enough! The Trump administration has uncovered MASSIVE fraud in Minnesota and Minneapolis—billions siphoned off by fraudsters. And those in charge have ZERO plan to fix it. |