A contentious Capitol Hill hearing addressing the rampant fraud happening across Minnesota turned into chaos after a testy back-and-forth between Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Governor Tim Walz (D-MN).
During Wednesday hearing run by the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Mace grilled Walz on the Minnesota fraud scandal and opened her line of questioning with a doozy.
“Gov. Walz, what is a woman? Have you learned that lesson? Do you know what a woman is?” asked Mace.
The Minnesota governor didn’t provide a direct answer, but he did accuse the Republican of having an “obsession.”
“I’m the governor of Minnesota, congresswoman,” he said. “I’m not here to be your prop or your obsession.”
“If you can’t define what a woman is, you certainly can’t define what fraud is. If you can’t even define what a woman is, you can’t define fraud,” Mace said.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R): "What is a woman?"
Tampon Tim: -refuses to answer-
Mace: "So, if you can't define what a woman is, you certainly can't define what fraud is."
BOOMpic.twitter.com/zgjyXhCMom
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 4, 2026
At a June hearing, the Republican Congresswoman (who is also running for Gov. of South Carolina) asked Walz the same question.
“I’m not sure I understand the question here. What do you want me to say?” Mr. Walz said.
She retorted: “I want you to say that a woman like me is an adult human female. That men can’t become women.”
However, Mace wasn’t done.
Her quip regarding “what is a woman” was a preamble to ensuring Walz addressed the rampant fraud that occurred under his watch.
Mace specifically asked Walz a series of questions about fraud linked to funding designated to help children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Mace began by asking Walz how much the state of Minnesota had spent on autism programs in 2017.
Walz at first replied that he did not know, but when Mace challenged him directly asking whether he’d prepared for the hearing ahead of time he argued that he did not know because he was not the governor in 2017.
“We’re gonna do some Minnesota math today,” Mace said, eventually saying that Minnesota had spent approximately $1,000,000 on autism programs in 2017 according to data she had in hand.
“How much money was spent on autism in Minnesota in 2024?” Mace asked then.
“I don’t have the number in front of me,” Walz replied. As governor I don’t —”
“Were you governor in 2024?” Mace asked.
“I was, but I’m not the —”
“Okay, so your excuse before, you didn’t know what 2017 autism numbers were because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor and you still said you prepared for this hearing today, it’s unbelievable,” Mace said.
“$343,000,000 was spent in 2024. What percent increase is that, from one million to 343 million?”
“I’m not here to be your prop, go ahead and tell me,” Walz snapped.
“Are you governor of Minnesota or not?” Mace asked.
“Yes, I am,” Walz replied.
“Well, when I’m governor of South Carolina, you can sure as hell bet that I’m going to know the math,” Mace shot back, explaining that it those numbers represented a 34,200% increase.
“Do you know the number of children in Minnesota?” she asked.
“I know that Minnesota ranked as a top three state for children in the last year,” Walz said.
Mace asked what the state’s total population was.
“5.7 million,” Walz quickly replied.
“What is the total population of children in Minnesota?” Mace followed up.
“I don’t have the number in front of me,” Walz said.
“Are you governor of Minnesota?” Mace repeated.
“And you don’t know the number of children residing in Minnesota? … As governor, I expect you to know this information. Thank God you’re not the vice president.”
Ouch! Take a look at the entire exchange below —
Tim Walz can’t, or won’t, answer simple questions about the absolutely massive increase in Autism program spending in his state.
These numbers have been circulating publicly for some time.
This is just insane. What a fraud. pic.twitter.com/eF2nWEL7Le
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 4, 2026