meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Are Minnesota's $1 Billion Safety-Net Scams a Drop in the Bucket?

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

42.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Federal prosecutors have now charged dozens of people, many from the state's Somali community, for defrauding Minnesota's welfare programs. How did the government let this happen, and does the outrage suggest that Republicans can win a political debate over reforming America's systems for public assistance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Nearly home.

0:02.2

Isn't home where we all want to be?

0:04.4

Reba here for Realtor.com, the pro's number one most trusted app.

0:09.1

A dream home isn't a dream home if it comes with a nightmare commute.

0:12.7

That's why realter.com has real commute, so you can search by drive time.

0:17.7

Download the realtor.com app today because you're nearly home. Make it real with

0:23.5

Realtor.com. Pro's number one most trusted app based on August 2025 proprietary survey.

0:32.7

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

0:44.8

A series of safety net scams in Minnesota have now resulted in federal charges against dozens of people, many from that state's Somali community, for a fraud total exceeding

0:51.0

a billion dollars, sparking a verbal tussle between President Trump and

0:55.8

Minnesota's governor, Tim Walls. Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.

1:01.7

We're joined today by my colleagues on the journal's opinion pages, Matt Contenetti and

1:07.1

Kim Strassel. There have been dozens of charges now filed in this burgeoning fraud scheme

1:13.8

involving more than one federal program, Medicaid, the federal child nutrition program in Minnesota.

1:21.4

One source telling a newspaper, no one was doing anything about the red flags. It was like someone

1:26.9

was stealing money from the cookie jar and they kept refilling it.

1:31.3

Naturally, President Trump is now sensing a political opportunity here for Republicans.

1:35.4

Here he is addressing this series of schemes during a cabinet meeting this week.

1:41.3

But this beautiful place and I see these people ripping it off, and now I'm understanding,

1:47.0

and you're going to look at, I hear they ripped off Somalians, ripped off that state

1:54.5

for billions of dollars, billions, every year, billions of dollars, and they contribute nothing.

2:04.8

The welfare is like 88%.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 28 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.