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EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota’s Democrat-led neighbor could be missing a chance to prevent a Feeding Our Future–style crisis, Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., warned Thursday.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has faced widening scrutiny over a fraud scheme in which members of the Twin Cities’ Somali community allegedly diverted taxpayer-funded meal money overseas, including to terror group Al-Shabaab.
Tiffany, who is running to be Wisconsin’s governor in 2026, slammed retiring incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for prominently rebuking the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct audits of SNAP – or food stamps – programs in the 50 states.
On Thursday, Tiffany’s office shared a letter with Fox News Digital that he planned to send to Evers later in the day.
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"Like many Wisconsin residents, I was disappointed by your recent public statements ruling out cooperation with the federal government to detect fraud in the food stamp program," Tiffany wrote. "We should all be able to agree that fraud and abuse in vital safety net programs is unacceptable, which is why I hope you will reconsider your position."
He added: "Your position on this matter is even more shocking given recent developments in our neighboring state of Minnesota. There, the governor’s mismanagement and lack of transparency in food security programs have led to multiple investigations of a taxpayer-funded fraud scheme totaling a staggering $1 billion that allegedly involved Somalian terrorists."
The Minocqua congressman said that failure to police SNAP abuses jeopardizes the program's longevity and ability to serve the Wisconsinites who legally rely on it, and that withholding such information is "effectively prioritizing the ability of scammers and illegal aliens to bilk this program…"
"This makes no sense," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Tiffany took to social media to castigate Evers for balking at USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins' request.
"Governor Evers is refusing to let federal agencies check Wisconsin’s food stamp rolls for fraud," Tiffany wrote on Facebook.
"What are Democrats hiding? We do not want to end up like Minnesota with billions in stolen tax dollars."
Tiffany’s post was explicitly responding to Evers’ recent interview with Matt Smith of Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate who had asked him about his refusal to let the USDA audit the food stamp program.
Smith paraphrased Rollins' critiques of SNAP as a "broken program full of bad things," and added that Rollins pointed out that 29 states agreed to give federal officials access to investigate fraud.
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"That system is analyzed every single year and we feel confident in it," Evers told Smith. "The idea they’re asking for this information; they're looking for ways to get out of doing it, frankly. And that is inappropriate."
Evers said the request was inappropriate given that his state has families who rely on the program to ensure proper, nutritious meals.
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Near the sunset of November’s government shutdown, Evers also balked at the Trump administration’s request that states undo payments to programs like Wisconsin’s "FoodShare" in light of the USDA canceling monthly disbursements until the government reopened.
Wisconsin and several prominent blue states, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington, California, New York and New Jersey – as well as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in his official capacity, given that state’s Republican Attorney General David Sunday was not onboard – wrote a letter to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston asking it to stop Trump’s SNAP-back effort.
When Evers and other governors received a response from the administration demanding they yank back payments, Evers responded with a statement that contained a single-worded first line: "No."
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Other Wisconsin Republicans also defended the USDA, with Rep. Bryan Steil of Kenosha telling The Center Square that the Badger State’s food stamp recipients were the ones being hurt by Democrats’ longtime refusal to reopen the government.
"Their radical base is demanding that they do anything to try to ‘stand up to Trump.’ What does that mean? They’re willing to put American families through a ton of pain," Steil said.
Another Wisconsin Republican led an effort to get the feds to create a carveout for SNAP funding as the shutdown battle raged.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ill., and told reporters in Madison where he was testifying in support of homeless veterans’ assistance, that he was raised in "abject rural poverty" and was in one of many American families who relied on food stamps.
Evers did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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