Karoline Leavitt pledges 'all-hands-on-deck' approach to cracking down on state fraud

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pledged Wednesday that the Trump administration is taking an "all-hands-on-deck" approach to cracking down on alleged widespread fraud in states such as Minnesota, saying prosecutors have already issued over 1,700 subpoenas. 

"When it comes to Minnesota, the fraud that we have seen, the wide scale of fraud, is really remarkable. It's egregious," Leavitt said during the first White House press briefing of the new year, which took place before news spread that a woman was fatally shot by immigration enforcement officers on Wednesday morning in Minneapolis. 

Leavitt noted that Trump administration officials and federal law enforcement are "on the ground" in Minnesota to investigate reports of fraud and other illegal activity in the Democrat-run state.

"[DHS] Secretary Noem was there yesterday," she said. "[Treasury] Secretary Bessent [is] traveling there later this week to talk about the fraud and to do a roundtable on this very topic."

To date, Leavitt shared that the U.S. Department of Justice has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent and 64 of whom have been convicted.

"The DOJ has also issued over 1,700 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and they have now added more attorneys to their office there to absorb the case flow," Leavitt said. "DHS is on the ground, going door-to-door, conducting large-scale criminal and [homeland security investigations.] They have also sent approximately 2,000 agents to Minneapolis to assist with law enforcement and immigration enforcement."

She also noted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) froze around $185 million in federal childcare payments to Minnesota in response to the fraud allegations last month, launching a national policy requiring justification and a receipt or photo evidence before receiving payments from the HHS' Administration for Children & Families (ACF).

Further actions are also being taken by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Small Business Administration to investigate and prevent fraudulent activity, Leavitt said.

"Rest assured, this is an all-hands-on-deck effort from the entire administration to get to the bottom of this and to ensure that the ripping off of taxpayers in the state of Minnesota — and it won't just be Minnesota, it will be any state across this country where fraud has taken place, and we are protecting law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens," she said.

Leavitt's comments come days after Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who served as his party's vice presidential nominee in 2024, announced he is stepping back from seeking reelection to a historic third term as governor.

Walz's administration recently drew scrutiny for what critics consider an inadequate response to widespread fraud among childcare centers, many of which are run by Somali immigrants.

Last month, independent journalist Nick Shirley went viral for a video in which he visited licensed daycare centers in the Minneapolis area that appeared vacant despite receiving millions in taxpayer funds — such as $1.9 million to "Quality Learing [sic] Center."

Other independent journalists have since begun investigating what they believe to be similar fraudulent schemes in other cities such as Seattle, Washington and Columbus, Ohio.

Leavitt speculated that Walz "probably dropped out of the race because he realizes he no longer has the support of the people of his own state, which is a remarkable downfall considering he was the No. 2 on the Democrat Party's ticket just about a year ago."

The White House briefing took place as tensions boiled over in Minneapolis, with Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey telling U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) to "get the f— out" of the city after a 37-year-old woman was shot and killed by law enforcement.

DHS claims the ICE agent fired his weapon in self-defense after the woman allegedly attempted to "weaponize her vehicle" by running him over.

"We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite. People are being hurt, families are being ripped apart," Frey said during a press conference.

Walz accused DHS of "propaganda," promising Minnesota would conduct "a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice."