Citizens Against Government Waste Names Minnesota Governor Tim Walz January 2026 Porker of the Month

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) its January 2026 Porker of the Month for failing to stop billions of dollars in fraud in federally funded social safety net programs.

Fraud is running rampant in Minnesota. Taxpayer-subsidized daycare facilities in Minnesota received millions of dollars but investigations unearthed vacant buildings with no children or teachers anywhere to be found. Minnesota’s daycare program fraud was first noted by Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) during a 2018 hearing, but lack of oversight and accountability led to the waste of at least $9 billion between 2018 and 2023. The $9 billion theft by fraudsters amounts to $2,820 annually from every low-income Minnesotan. Since 2013, whistleblowers have repeatedly brought instances of fraud in these safety net programs to the public’s attention, yet Gov. Walz has continuously ignored this excessive waste of taxpayer dollars.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Gov. Walz’s blatant failure to stop wasteful spending should anger every taxpayer in Minnesota. His pattern of lax controls, slow responses to warning signs, and an apparent unwillingness to impose basic safeguards over these programs is appalling. Minnesota’s daycare fraud scandal should serve as a warning to every state that without firm guardrails and increased oversight, government waste is not just possible, it is inevitable. For failing to take responsibility for the fraud and waste of billions of dollars and instead blaming his critics for ‘playing politics,’ Gov. Walz was an easy choice for January 2026 Porker of the Month.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.