Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will announce Monday that he is dropping out of the 2026 gubernatorial race – a stunning fall from power for the 2024 Democratic Party Vice Presidential nominee.
The Democratic governor faces mounting pressure over billions of dollars in unchecked fraud within the Minnesota Somali community under his watch.
Walz has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Monday to “discuss the news of the day,” a spokesperson from his office said. Walz is expected to announced that he is dropping out of the 2026 election, according to numerous reports.
Walz reportedly met with Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday to discuss the decision.
The governor’s withdrawal comes as Minnesota has become engulfed in what federal prosecutors describe as massive fraud schemes involving the state’s Somali community.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said earlier in December that more than half of the $18 billion in federal funds allocated to Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen. Thompson said Minnesota faces a particularly large problem over 14 different Medicaid and welfare programs that the state has flagged for “significant fraud problems.”
The scandal exploded into national attention after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video showing empty daycare facilities with misspelled signs, locked doors, and no trace of children, despite receiving millions in taxpayer funds annually. The video has been viewed over 137 million times across platforms.
Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota districts, demanded answers from Walz after the video went viral.
“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly,” Emmer said. “This is a prime example of the billions of dollars in fraud happening right now in Minnesota.”
The fraud scandal began with the Feeding Our Future program, where federal prosecutors say defendants falsely claimed to be providing meals to thousands of needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic… but instead were pocketing hundreds of millions in federal funds.
Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media that the Justice Department has “charged 98 individuals—85 of Somali descent—and more than 60 have been found guilty in court” in related Minnesota fraud cases, adding “we have more prosecutions coming … BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Federal charges were brought against dozens of people beginning in 2022. Since then, the fraud scandal has spiraled.
A federal jury found in March 2025 that Minnesota restaurant owners had committed $250 million in fraud by claiming to provide meals to children but instead funding their own lifestyles.
The Justice Department also charged individuals with wire fraud involving federal autism funding in September.
President Donald Trump called Minnesota “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and said the fraud involved “a massive, complex network of nonprofits and affiliates” linked to the Somali community. Trump has threatened to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota and announced federal funding suspensions to investigate the fraud allegations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described current operations in Minnesota as a “massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud,” with agents reportedly going “door to door at suspected fraud sites” featured in Shirley’s viral footage.
Walz announced in September that he would seek a third term, something no Minnesota governor has accomplished since the adoption of four-year terms in 1962.
According to reports, Klobuchar is on top of the list of replacements if Walz bows out of the race. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is another name that could emerge as a contender.
The House Oversight Committee has called Minnesota state representatives to testify on Wednesday at a hearing on the massive “fraud and misuse of federal funds” in the state. The committee is also expected to hear testimony from Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a separate hearing on February 10.