Walz refuses to quit after dropping re-election bid amid Minnesota fraud firestorm: 'Over my dead body'
One day after announcing he was scrapping his re-election bid, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota vocally pushed back against calls by Republican state lawmakers to resign amid the state's...
By Fox News · Fox News
One day after announcing he was scrapping his re-election bid, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota vocally pushed back against calls by Republican state lawmakers to resign amid the state's sweeping fraud scandal. "I'm not going anywhere. And you can make all your requests for me to resign. Over my dead body will that happen," Walz told reporters as he answered questions for the first time since his stunning re-election announcement. The embattled governor ended his bid for an unprecedented third term amid stinging criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over his handling of his state's massive welfare assistance fraud scandal. But a combative Walz trained his verbal attacks on President Donald Trump and Minnesota Republicans. Pointing to Republicans in the state legislature, the governor warned: "Expect for the next 11 months for me to ride you like you've never been ridden, to make sure that you're doing your job." FRAUD FALLOUT FORCES WALZ TO ABANDON GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION BID Pointing to the controversy, the governor reiterated that "the buck stops with me. I'm accountable for this. And because of that accountability, I'm not running for office again." "I have a year to continue to improve on a record that I think will stand up against anybody's, a record that has made Minnesota better," Walz argued. Walz launched his Minnesota re-election bid in September, but in recent weeks has been facing a barrage of incoming political fire over the large-scale theft, under his watch as governor, in a state that has long prided itself on good governance. THE POLITICAL RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ More than 90 people — most from Minnesota's large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation's largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney…