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A Republican-led congressional oversight report alleges that senior Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., failed for years to act on warnings about fraud in the state’s social services programs, allowing hundreds of millions of dollars in confirmed or alleged losses and placing billions more at risk.

The Walz administration had the power to stop fraudulent payments to high-risk entities receiving federal nutrition and Medicaid funds, but the state "repeatedly failed to act" after officials raised concerns, according to a 205-page final staff report released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday.  

Congressional investigators found that concerns about potential racial discrimination claims — rather than legal constraints — contributed to the Walz administration's decision to continue paying providers suspected of fraud. The committee also spoke to nearly 30 whistleblowers, some of whom accused the Walz administration of retaliation against state employees for sounding the alarm about potential fraud.

"Fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government, meaningful corrective action was delayed or avoided, and payments continued long after credible signs of fraud emerged," the report reads in part.

OWNER OF DAYCARE IN VIRAL NICK SHIRLEY VIDEO CHARGED IN $4.6M DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME, PROSECUTORS SAY

The committee found Minnesota is estimated to have lost $300 million in stolen federal nutrition funds intended to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic and that as much as $9 billion in Medicaid billing may have been fraudulent, an estimate attributed to a federal prosecutor and disputed by Walz administration officials.

Walz was allegedly aware of fraud associated with the now-defunct Feeding Our Future nonprofit that operated a constellation of fake meal sites as early as 2020, but payments continued flowing to the group for roughly two more years. The oversight panel also found Walz gave conflicting answers about when he first learned of the sweeping meal fraud. 

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 110 individuals in connection with various fraud schemes in the state. Many defendants in the Feeding Our Future case have been identified as members of Minnesota's Somali immigrant community, in connection with various fraud schemes in the state. Some of the convicted fraudsters used the stolen money for luxury purchases and state officials have investigated whether a portion of it was funneled overseas to aid terrorist groups in Somalia and the Middle East.

"Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are responsible for one of the most stunning oversight failures this Committee has ever examined," Comer said in a statement. "It is now clear the Walz Administration chose to protect the system rather than protect the taxpayer."

The report caps a months long investigation into the Walz administration's handling of widespread fraud, which began in late 2025 and included hearing testimony from Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison as well as members of the Minnesota state legislature's fraud committee. Nine current and former state officials also participated in transcribed interviews with congressional investigators.

The panel is also probing alleged health care fraud in California and Ohio as part of Republicans' ongoing "war on fraud."

MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES

The committee sent a letter to Vice President JD Vance urging a full review of Minnesota’s social services programs for potential fraud vulnerabilities, following the report’s findings.

Vance's anti-fraud task force has led to the arrest of at least eight people who allegedly participated in health care fraud schemes and the freezing of $1.3 billion in payments to home health and hospice providers suspected of defrauding the government. 

Earlier this year, the Trump administration suspended nearly $260 million in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota over the Walz administration’s alleged failure to crack down on fraud.

The Trump administration has also required states to show they are aggressively probing potential Medicaid fraud or risk losing federal funding.

The report also comes as the House is expected to consider a slate of fraud-prevention bills this week. Republicans have argued that new legislative tools are necessary to prevent fraud at the state level amid alleged inaction.

The federal government loses an estimated $233 billion to $521 billion annually to fraud, according to a 2024 Government Accountability Office report.

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A pair of U.S. adversaries — China and North Korea — appear to be strengthening relations, with Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival in Pyongyang on Monday for a rare state visit.

This is Xi's first trip to North Korea in seven years, and experts say the visit is likely aimed at reasserting China’s unique influence over North Korea in exchange for providing economic and political benefits.

Xi is scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in what will be their first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

No specific agenda has been mentioned, but foreign experts predict the meeting to have a significant impact on bilateral ties and more, as both sides seek to fully restore their traditional alliance amid separate disputes with the U.S. government.

NORTH KOREA UPDATES CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE AUTOMATIC NUCLEAR STRIKE IF KIM JONG UN ASSASSINATED: REPORT

Xi’s trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi plans to meet Trump again for a U.S. visit in September.

China has, for years, been North Korea's economic lifeline and primary diplomatic backer. China has refrained from fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to support its impoverished neighbor.

This year marks 65 years since the two nations signed a mutual defense treaty.

Despite this, there have been questions about their ties in recent years, as North Korea has prioritized cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine and received economic and military assistance from Moscow in return.

Experts warn that restoring China's exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi leverage with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his wish to restart diplomacy with Kim.

Analysts said Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea and joint economic projects.

Xi may also avoid the issue of denuclearization of North Korea, which wants to achieve international recognition as a nuclear weapons state, as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, according to experts.

After last month’s summit between Trump and Xi, the U.S. government said the two leaders affirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea.

But China only said the leaders spoke about the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Kim’s sister and senior official Kim Yo Jong dismissed the readout of the meeting as "false information."

NORTH KOREAN DICTATOR SAYS GOVERNMENT WILL KEEP CEMENTING NATION'S 'IRREVERSIBLE STATUS AS A NUCLEAR POWER'

Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and pledged to bolster the country’s nuclear forces "at an exponential rate." He also said he is seeking to speed up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.

On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong described a U.S. plan for the denuclearization of North Korea as an "escapist and anachronistic dream."

Kim Jong Un has dismissed U.S. and South Korean offers for talks as he focuses on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal. The North Korean leader in September urged the U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.

This week's quiz highlights music milestones, patriotic pursuits — and much more.

Can you get all 8 questions right?

Give it a try and see how you do!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES

To try your hand at more quizzes from Fox News Digital, click here. 

Also, to take our latest News Quiz — published every Friday — click here.

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Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., cursed out a Fox News Digital reporter after he began asking about allegations of a sexual relationship between her and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., that were recently raised by a woman identifying herself as Massie's ex-girlfriend.

"F – – – you, first of all!’ Boebert said to a Fox News Digital reporter when bringing up claims from Massie’s alleged ex-girlfriend.

"If you're gonna bring me into this, like, the sexist stuff is like out of control," she continued. "So there's your clickbait that you were looking for."

FIVE TIMES NANCY PELOSI LOST HER COOL WITH THE MEDIA

Boebert then declined to discuss the allegations further.

The exchange came after Boebert had been discussing President Donald Trump's efforts to unseat Republican incumbents and Massie's political future.

The former congressional staffer Cynthia West, who previously worked for Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., accused Massie of bragging to her about an alleged sexual encounter with Boebert within weeks of his wife's death.

West also accused Massie of offering her $5,000 to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit she was pursuing against Spartz, an ally of Massie. The allegations surfaced just a week before Massie lost his House seat in the May 19 Republican primary.

"I don't want to talk about anybody's exes and their crazy s– – – that they do," Boebert said to the reporter.

Before the exchange turned contentious, Boebert was answering questions about whether Trump's strategy of backing primary challengers against Republican incumbents is backfiring on the GOP agenda.

MTG SAYS GOP'S FUTURE 'DESTROYED' AFTER TRUMP-BACKED PRIMARY CHALLENGER DEFEATS THOMAS MASSIE IN PRIMARY

"I think most of the folks that have lost their primaries, they were backfiring on the GOP agenda — Cassidy, Cornyn," Boebert replied.

"I mean, obviously Thomas Massie is the only one that I'm a little sad about," she said. 

Boebert was also asked about Massie’s recent announcement that he is filing for re-election in 2028. Many are speculating that Massie could make a 2028 presidential run as he said he is unsure which position he will be seeking re-election for.

"I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run," he wrote in a post on X announcing his re-election filing with the Federal Election Commission.  

TRUMP CALLS OUT REP THOMAS MASSIE: 'KENTUCKY, GET THIS LOSER OUT OF POLITICS' TUESDAY

Boebert shared that she was unsure of Massie’s next move, before she reprimanded the reporter for shifting the conversation to allegations raised by West.

"He filed for something," she said. "He didn't specify what and I don't know if he's going to move forward with that or not. I don’t know." "Hopefully he leaves here and makes some money," Boebert added.

Moments later, the reporter began asking about the allegations from Massie’s alleged ex-girlfriend, prompting Boebert's expletive-laced response.

Boebert declined to discuss the allegations further and walked away from the interview.

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital ahead of Tuesday's South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary that President Donald Trump's endorsement has done little to boost her opponent's standing with conservative voters, arguing that many grassroots Republicans are "very upset" with the decision.

"It's not going over well for her with the grassroots, which is why she didn't get much of a bump," Mace said. "She got maybe a five point bump — not much."

"And she's going to be in a runoff and I think at that point all bets are off."

Mace was referring to South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, whom Trump endorsed last week, as Mace and Trump have publicly broken in recent months.

FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN FIREBRAND NANCY MACE LAUNCHES BID FOR SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR

"It’s a dog fight," Mace said. "We’re in it and I’m gonna fight to the death."

Mace shared that she wasn’t shocked when Trump chose not to endorse her because of her vote in Congress to push for the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"I knew it was on the line when I voted to release the Epstein files, and I'm a survivor," Mace said. "If the price to pay for an endorsement was to not release those files, I would never pay it."

Mace was one of four Republicans to sign a petition last year to force a vote in the House on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation that urged the Department of Justice to publish all its information on its probe into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell — millions of documents.

NANCY MACE TORCHES CLEMSON UNIVERSITY OVER 15-GENDER MENU: 'NOT ON MY WATCH'

Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary was also in favor of South Carolina’s current term-limited governor, Henry McMaster, who has also endorsed Evette as his potential successor. Trump wrote that he expected Evette would choose the current governor’s son, Henry McMaster Jr., as her lieutenant governor.

"Pam Evette is a good friend, fighter, and WINNER, and will be a terrific Governor of South Carolina," the president posted. "Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!"

Trump's endorsement came days before the June 9 primary and as early voting was getting underway in South Carolina.

MACE TARGETS SQUAD DEM WITH PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON FOREIGN-BORN LAWMAKERS

Tuesday’s crowded Republican primary field includes Evette, Attorney General Alan Wilson, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., businessman Rom Reddy and Mace. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff — a situation Mace predicted could reshape the race despite Trump's backing of Evette.

"I disagree with this endorsement," Mace said. "And I'm going to vote for myself. I'm asking voters in South Carolina to vote for me as well on Tuesday."

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Pope Leo XIV joked Saturday that he knows who would win if young people had to choose between seeing him or Latin pop singer Bad Bunny this weekend.

The Pope, who began a weeklong visit to Spain on Saturday, acknowledged that he is competing for attention with the Puerto Rican superstar while in Madrid. Many young Spaniards, he suggested, would likely choose the Grammy-winning artist over the pontiff.

"If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny," Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane before his arrival.

"But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope," he added. "And that says something, you know."

WHY BAD BUNNY’S ‘GOD BLESS AMERICA’ MOMENT AT THE SUPER BOWL SPARKED CONTROVERSY

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is currently performing a 10-show run in Madrid as part of his Spanish tour.

Leo raised the comparison while discussing what he described as signs of a spiritual awakening among some young people in Spain.

The pope said many young adults appear to be searching for meaning and expressed hope that his visit could help "awaken" something within them.

POPE LEO XIV GIVES 1ST HOMILY AS AMERICAN PONTIFF, SAYS LOSS IN FAITH HAS LED TO CRISIS IN HUMANITY

Despite his remarks, thousands of young Catholics turned out to greet the pope.

An estimated 500,000 people gathered in a Madrid plaza Saturday evening for a prayer vigil, chanting, "This is the youth of the pope!"

Leo later rode through the crowd in his popemobile while a Spanish rendition of the 1970s musical "Godspell" played.

POPE LEO XIV'S SPORTS FANDOM COMING TO LIGHT WITH WHITE SOX WORLD SERIES APPEARANCE, VILLANOVA-KNICKS TIES

The Chicago-born pope was also asked about reports that the Chicago Bears could soon move out of Illinois.

The team's board of directors voted Thursday to advance a proposed stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana.

"That’s out of my pay (scale)," Leo quipped when asked about the potential relocation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro made his first public appearance Friday since the Trump administration charged him with murder over the 1996 shoot-down of planes operated by a Cuban exile group.

Castro appeared on state television during an Interior Ministry celebration in Havana, according to Reuters.

The appearance came weeks after the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing Castro of playing a role in the downing of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue nearly 30 years ago.

Castro was charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder.

DOJ, TREASURY INVESTIGATE NONPROFITS AND LEADERS ALLEGEDLY COORDINATING WITH CUBA IN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN

Castro, who turned 95 on Wednesday, was last seen publicly during May Day celebrations in Havana, days before the indictment was unsealed.

Prior to his May Day appearance, Castro had remained out of public view for months, appearing only at a public ceremony in Cuba's capital in January honoring 32 Cuban soldiers killed during the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The indictment centers on a February 1996 incident in which Cuban military aircraft allegedly shot down two unarmed civilian planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, killing four men: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.

OBAMA’S BASEBALL OUTING WITH CASTRO REIGNITES FURY AFTER TRUMP DOJ DROPS HAMMER ON CUBAN LEADER

Prosecutors allege the aircraft were flying outside Cuban territory when they were destroyed.

The indictment came amid rising tensions in the Caribbean and a series of comments from Trump and his surrogates hinting at possible regime change in the island nation.

President Donald Trump previously praised the indictment, saying Cuban Americans whose families suffered under the communist regime had waited decades for accountability.

TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME

"We have big news on Cuba, as you know, with the indictment of Castro," Trump said. "A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very, at levels that few people would understand."

Trump also suggested tensions with Cuba would not escalate following the indictment.

"There won’t be escalation," he said. "We won’t have to."

MADURO'S CAPTURE IS 'BEGINNING OF THE END' FOR CUBA'S REGIME, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIR SAYS

Still, the decision to indict Castro fueled comparisons to the pressure campaign Trump previously used against Maduro.

"At the very least, it means symbolically that he is now set up just as Nicolás Maduro was," Christine Balling, a Cuba expert at the Institute of World Politics and former advisor to U.S. Special Operations Command South, previously told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges while tightening sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, backing opposition efforts to remove him from power and increasing military operations in the Caribbean.

"I don't think that we are necessarily going to conduct the same operation," Balling said. "Raúl Castro is 94 years old. It might not be worth the trouble."

Still, Balling argued that the indictment sent "a very straightforward message that we are 100% behind the fall of the Castro regime."

Fox News Digital's Robert McGreevy, Greg Wehner and Morgan Phillips, along with Fox News' David Spunt, Bill Mears and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed to this report.

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