SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
minnesota
Why the Trump Admin Can't Investigate Minnesota Fraud Without Scapegoating Somalis
By framing what’s occurring in Minnesota as ‘the Somali fraud network,’ the Trump administration is looking to legitimize its months-long attack on the Somali community and distract from its own unpopularity.
Jan 03, 2026
On December 26, YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video entitled, “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal.” So far, the video has amassed over 2 million views and has been lauded by major conservatives including Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance. Via Twitter, Vance posted that, “This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 @pulitzercenter prize.”
In response to the outcry from this video, the Trump administration is reportedly freezing federal childcare funding across all states. Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary Jim O’Neill called the measure necessary given the “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country.” While each state will face new requirements to regain funding, Minnesota will be subject to stricter scrutiny.
This is a drastic response, especially since Shirley’s video didn’t reveal anything new. The Department of Justice (DOJ)—under both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden—was already investigating fraud in Minnesota. In 2022, 47 people were charged for their role in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded nutrition program during the Covid-19 pandemic. Several news outlets had reported on allegations of fraud regarding federally funded childcare centers in Minnesota months prior to Shirley’s video.
Shirley also doesn’t discover any new evidence. This is unsurprising given his deeply flawed approach. For instance, in the video, Shirley and his crew visit several Somali-owned daycare centers and ask the workers: “Where are the children at? Are there children here today?” Even if fraud was occurring at the sites he visited, the workers’ refusal to take a stranger with a camera to see the kids reveals nothing. Maybe there were no kids present. Or maybe they are simply responsible workers protecting the safety of the children from a potential creep.
This is not about fraud. It’s not about justice. It’s poor political theater from a battered and desperate administration.
Ultimately, if widespread fraud is occurring anywhere, then the people responsible should be held accountable. The problem, however, is that this outrage is being manipulated by the Trump administration to further scapegoat the Somali community.
Consider for instance this comment made by Attorney General Pamela Bondi via Twitter-X. She writes that the DOJ has been investigating this alleged daycare fraud case for months. Thus far, the department has “charged 98 individual—85 of Somali descent—and more than 60 have been found guilty in court.”
There is no reason whatsoever for Bondi to draw attention to the ethnic or racial background of any of the people being charged. She is emphasizing that information in order to help fuel and justify the Trump administration’s xenophobia.
By framing what’s occurring in Minnesota as “the Somali fraud network,” the Trump administration is looking to legitimize their months-long attack on the Somali community. In December alone, President Trump remarked: “We always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships.” Vice President JD Vance said that Democrats “are not sending their best” in reference to Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh. He claimed that Fateh was Representative Ilhan Omar’s “candidate for mayor of Mogadishu. Wait, I mean Minneapolis.” US Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller shouted, “If Somalians cannot make Somalia successful, why would we think that the track will be any different in the United States?”
The Trump administration is exploiting public outrage to further its assault on immigrants and their families. Already House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has called for deporting all Somalis linked to fraud in Minnesota, including naturalized citizens. He further adds, “Our nation will not tolerate those who take advantage of our charity and refuse to assimilate into our culture.” Putting aside that most fraud in the US is committed by white Americans, stipulating that the US will not tolerate those who fail to embrace US culture has far wider implications than punishing criminals. This is about punishing diversity.
This is also why the administration has moved to freeze all federal childcare funding. Again, this fraud was already known and is still being investigated. To implement a measure that so indiscriminately and callously harms Americans—during an affordability crisis—is meant to redirect people’s genuine frustrations with the Trump administration onto the Somali community.
They will be the scapegoats for Trump’s violence. And they are only the beginning. On December 31, Trump posted on Truth Social: “There is more FRAUD in California than there is in Minnesota, if that is even possible. When you add in Election Fraud, then they are tied for first. Two Crooked Governors, two Crooked States!”
Trump will capitalize on the public’s legitimate concerns about fraud to attack his political opponents, like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He will use it to further villainize immigrants. After all, California is the state with the nation’s largest immigrant population—guess who will be blamed for fraud there?
Trump has regularly insisted that Democrats “use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.” These fraud allegations provide him with the perfect opportunity to extend this false narrative. The fact that the DOJ’s investigation thus far has charged less than 100 people is irrelevant. Most of them are of Somali descent, and Minnesota’s governor is a Democrat (who just ran against him as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick). That’s all Trump and his allies care about.
This is not about fraud. A truly anti-fraud president would not commute the sentence of David Gentile, a private equity executive convicted for his role in a $1.6 billion Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors. As part of his pardon, Gentile will no longer be required to pay $15.5 million in restitution to his victims. Perhaps if Gentile were of Somali descent, then Trump would be more concerned with justice and respect for the law.
There is no legitimate rationale for withholding childcare funding from the entire country because of the actions committed by so few. Trump supporters might argue that this extreme measure simply demonstrates President Trump’s unwavering and firm commitment to law and order. That he is simply rooting out fraud from the system in the most direct way possible.
But if this is true, then why only take these measures after a YouTuber posts a video about it? Why wait until there is public outcry?
It’s because that outcry; these extreme measures; and this anti-Somali, xenophobic framing are all politically useful for the Trump administration. This is not about fraud. It’s not about justice. It’s poor political theater from a battered and desperate administration.
2025 was a difficult year for the country, and 2026 is starting off on a rough foot. As the midterm elections approach, the Trump administration will likely resort to more drastic and violent measures. We cannot give into despair. Trump is waging a battle of attrition against the American public. He wants us stressed, afraid, and divided. The only remedy is for us to remain vigilant, unyielding, and united.
Keep ReadingShow Less
‘Scorched-Earth Attack’: Trump Admin Cuts Off Childcare Funds to All States
"My team and I are exploring all our legal options to ensure that critical childcare services do not get abruptly slashed based on pretext and grandstanding," said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Jan 01, 2026
The Trump administration on Wednesday froze federal childcare funding to every state in the US after initially suspending funds for Minnesota earlier this week, a move that the state's Democratic attorney general condemned as a "hasty, scorched-earth attack" on key social services.
Jim O'Neill, deputy secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said in a statement posted to social media that he has "activated our defend the spend system for all [Administration for Children and Families] payments" to states, alleging "fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country." As evidence, O'Neill cited a viral video by Nick Shirley, a right-wing influencer who recently visited Somali-owned Minnesota daycare sites at the direction of state Republicans.
In order to receive Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funding going forward, O'Neill said Thursday, states will have to provide "a justification and a receipt or photo evidence." States with childcare centers that the Trump administration suspects of fraud will have to jump through additional hoops, according to an HHS spokesperson.
The Trump administration's decision to cut off childcare funds to all states—not just Minnesota—on the dubious grounds of fighting fraud came after Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accused President Donald Trump of politicizing the issue to advance a broader assault on the social safety net.
"While Minnesota has been combating fraud, the president has been letting fraudsters out of jail," Walz wrote in a social media post on Thursday, apparently referring to the president's commutation of the seven-year prison sentence of David Gentile, a former private equity executive convicted of defrauding more than 10,000 investors.
"Trump’s using an issue he doesn’t give a damn about as an excuse to hurt working Minnesotans," Walz added.
"If we allow this funding freeze to happen, all Minnesotans are going to suffer."
In a statement on Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that the Trump administration "is threatening funding for the essential childcare services that countless families across Minnesota rely on—apparently all on the basis of one video on social media."
"To say I am outraged is an understatement," he said. "We’ve seen this movie before. In mid-December, the Trump administration gave four counties in Minnesota one month to conduct in-person interviews with almost 100,000 households that receive [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits to reverify their eligibility."
"My team and I are exploring all our legal options to ensure that critical childcare services do not get abruptly slashed based on pretext and grandstanding," Ellison added.
Minnesota state Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (D-49B), co-chair of the Legislature's committee on children and families, warned that "if we allow this funding freeze to happen, all Minnesotans are going to suffer."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Walz Says Trump Is Exploiting Minnesota Fraud Issue to Defund State’s Childcare Programs
"He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans," said the Democratic governor.
Dec 31, 2025
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday accused US President Donald Trump and his administration of sensationalizing and exploiting a real problem—fraud in the state's social services system—to advance their broader agenda of gutting the safety net.
"This is Trump’s long game," Walz wrote on social media after the US Department of Health and Human Services announced it was suspending all federal childcare funds to Minnesota, alleging "blatant fraud that appears to be rampant."
Walz added that fraud is "a serious issue—but this has been [Trump's] plan all along."
"He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans," the governor wrote.
This is Trump’s long game.
We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue - but this has been his plan all along.
He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans. https://t.co/7ByWjeXxu0
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 31, 2025
The right-wing media ecosystem and Republican politicians have fixated on fraud in Minnesota in recent weeks, using it to launch bigoted attacks on the state's Somali community and call for mass deportations of Somalis.
The issue exploded over the weekend after Nick Shirley, a right-wing influencer and YouTuber, released a video claiming to expose fraud in Minnesota day care centers. The video went viral and was shared by top Trump administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Vice President JD Vance. Kristi Noem, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, said in the wake of the video's publication that federal agents "are on the ground" in the state and "conducting a massive investigation."
Minnesota Public Radio reported that the state's House speaker, Rep. Lisa Demuth (R-13A), confirmed that her caucus directed Shirley to the day care sites that he visited.
"Those featured in his widely viewed video have been part of a state-administered childcare program using federal money, although some recently had operations or payments suspended," the outlet noted.
The Guardian noted that "despite claims by conservatives on social media that the allegations of fraud were ignored until now, there have been years of fraud investigations that began with the indictments in 2022 of 47 defendants for their alleged roles in a $250 million scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular