D.C. Memo: Trump admin adds SNAP fraud accusations to its attacks on Minnesota

WASHINGTON The Trump administration s war on Minnesota resumed this week with the continuation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement s Operation Metro Surge and an escalation of President Trump s rhetoric about the state s Somalis and Gov Tim Walz Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins opened a new front by also attacking Walz this week saying in a post on X that the state s food stamp plan was beset by fraud perpetrated by illegals and transnational crime rings GovTimWalz Welfare benefits are for the truly needed Rollins stated Not bad actors Not criminals And not for Illegals USDA compliance investigations will be requested to reauthorize to accept SNAP Say goodbye to trafficking transnational crime rings and skimmed benefits in MN retailers Rep Angie Craig D- nd District hastily pointed out that it s the USDA not the state that is responsible for licensing and overseeing retailers that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Effort SNAP payments from their customers through EBT cards USDA has the responsibility to oversee SNAP retailers so tweeting about my governor is idiotic disclosed Craig the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee Undocumented individuals have never been eligible for SNAP benefits This is just another cruel effort from this administration to use Minnesota s immigrant neighborhood as pawns in its fights with a Democratic-led state Minnesota was already at loggerheads with Rollins because it is one of states that have failed to provide the USDA with records of its SNAP project including the names of recipients and transaction input Rollins who issued the request on May has threatened non-compliant states with the elimination of the federal funds to administer the scheme Those funds have already been reduced by Trump s big beautiful budget bill which resulted in hikes in property taxes in Minnesota where individual counties run the food stamp initiative A further reduction in federal funds could wreak new havoc on the budgets of the state s counties Instead of providing information about their SNAP activity to Rollins Minnesota and the other states have sued the USDA USDA s attempt to collect this information from Plaintiff States flies in the face of privacy and safeguard protections in federal and state law the lawsuit says It also says that while the USDA has demanded the information to detect overpayments and fraud the move appears to be part of the federal authorities s well-publicized campaign to amass enormous troves of personal and private material including information on taxpayers and Medicaid recipients to advance goals that have nothing to do with combating waste fraud or abuse in federal benefit programs Minnesota s GOP lawmakers however have sided with the USDA on this issue Reps Brad Finstad R- st District Pete Stauber R- th District Tom Emmer R- th District and Michelle Fischbach R- th District wrote to Walz and the leaders of Minnesota s state Legislature this week The lawmakers disclosed an analysis of the GOP-led states that did provide the information requested by Rollins ascertained substantial fraud in the food stamp campaign Among other things the lawmakers appealed the Walz administration to provide a full explanation of why the state did not complete required precaution assessments of SNAP systems and an update on the state s response to Rollins s input request Senate stumbles on extending ACA subsidies As was expected the U S Senate on Thursday failed to approve a Democratic bill that would have extended enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and a GOP bill that would have provided those who buy healthcare insurance from MNsure or from ACA exchanges in other states with expanded wellbeing savings accounts as an alternative to the enhanced subsidies Those enhanced subsidies allowed higher-income Minnesotans making up to of the federal poverty level or in income for a family of four to receive help in paying for their healthcare insurance premiums They also increased aid for those with lower incomes About Minnesotans benefited from those enhanced premiums But they expire on Dec The subsidies are paid directly to insurers and the nation s insurance companies have already factored the loss of that money about billion a year in their proposals for rates which will increase substantially for those who purchase insurance from an ACA exchange Even those who receive their wellbeing care coverage from their employer or purchase their medical care outside an exchange will see premiums rise because of diagnostic inflation and GOP cuts to Medicaid as well as the expectation the enhanced GOP subsidies will end Thursday s Senate votes were part of a deal Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D made with Democrats to end the administration shutdown last month But a bipartisan compromise has been elusive Sens Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith joined their Democratic colleagues in voting for an extension of the subsidies and against the GOP plan Both bills were rejected because they failed to secure the votes needed to end a filibuster By refusing to act Congress has put millions of Americans in an impossible position forcing families farmers and small business owners to question whether they can even afford to keep their insurance Klobuchar reported in a report I will keep fighting to end this wellness care problem lower costs and increase access to quality care The prospect of extending the enhanced premium subsidies faces an even steeper climb in the U S House where GOP leaders continue to seek an end to the Affordable Care Act Still there is faint hope for a bipartisan compromise Two bipartisan bills in the House would extend the subsidies for a year or two with restrictions on those who would qualify for the aid House Speaker Mike Johnson R-La does not want to schedule a vote on act that would extend the ACA subsidies But he commented he will allow a vote next week on a Republican alternative Meanwhile House sponsors of the bipartisan bills are seeking the signatures of a majority or of House members that would force consideration of their bills Even if lawmakers are able to hold a vote on a bipartisan compromise that cannot be done until next year Congress plans to leave Washington D C on its holiday break next week In other news We wrote about President Trump s stepped up attacks on the Somali society in Minnesota and U S Rep Ilhan Omar including citizens calls for the Somali-American lawmaker to be deported We also shared an AP story about the Trump administration s plan to provide billion for farmers struggling in the wake of a arrangement war spawned by new tariffs on China How thorough has an audit of payments in the state s Medicaid undertaking been Matt Blake took a look Also Cleo Krejci interviewed a GOP state lawmaker who is resisting calls for Republicans to refute President Trump s comments about Somalis calling it selective partisan outrage on the part of Democrats This and that A reader responded to a story about President Donald Trump s latest and greater part disturbing attack on Rep Ilhan Omar and Minnesota s Somali population which referenced a Tuesday rally in Pennsylvania at which Trump noted Why is it we only take people from shithole countries right Why can t we have various people from Norway Sweden What Trump is saying is no less vile than what Nazis declared about Jews the reader wrote He wonders why modern America is not attracting Norwegians Swedes and Danes The answer those places are far better places to learn work raise a family and age in good robustness Nobody wants to live in a place led by an angry violent and psychotic bully when they have a better option Please keep your comments and any questions coming I ll try my best to respond Please contact me at aradelat minnpost com The post D C Memo Trump admin adds SNAP fraud accusations to its attacks on Minnesota appeared first on MinnPost