U.S. House Republicans subpoena Walz administration amid probe into Feeding our Future oversight

Republicans on the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce issued subpoenas Wednesday to Gov. Tim Walz’s office and the Minnesota Department of Education, as part of their investigation into oversight of pandemic funds in the wake of the Feeding our Future fraud.

The House committee is the latest to investigate the scandal, which involved a contractor using rosters of made-up children’s names to collect millions of dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding meant for meals for children when schools were closed during the pandemic, spending the money instead on homes, luxury cars and vacations.

Prosecutors have called it one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country, totaling more than $250 million.

The committee’s Republican members sent subpoenas to the governor, state Education Commissioner Willie Jett, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong. The subpoena letters signed by North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican, say the agencies have not turned over everything the committee wants for its investigation.

“The Committee has been unable to obtain substantive responsive materials in the many voluntary requests made in this matter,” the letter read.

In a statement, Walz spokesperson Claire Lancaster said the state “worked diligently to stop the fraud and we’re grateful to the FBI for working with the Department of Education to arrest and charge the individuals involved.”

The subpoenas require documents to be produced by noon on Sept. 18.

Minnesota’s legislative auditor issued a report in June saying that controls at the state Department of Education were inadequate. Walz called the report a “fair critique.”

The state Department of Education has since been granted more investigative authority and its own inspector general.

The House committee started requesting information about oversight in the pandemic meal programs in September 2022, shortly after the first criminal charges were unsealed — and well before Walz became the Democratic nominee for vice president. Republicans in Minnesota’s congressional delegation joined in asking for information from the USDA.

Staff writer Kelly Smith contributed to this report.