Minnesota's Democratic Senate nominee pointed the finger at Gov. Tim Walz when pressed on a fraud scandal that federal investigators say could exceed $9 billion, even though she has served as his lieutenant governor since 2019.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan appeared on MSNOW's "Morning Joe" Thursday and was asked whether she bears personal responsibility for the massive fraud that unfolded on her administration's watch. Her answer amounted to a redirect. She cited Walz's own words, said she agreed more should have been done sooner, and moved on, without explaining what she did, or failed to do, during the years the fraud grew.
Fox News Digital reported that Flanagan's comments drew immediate fire from Republicans, her November opponent, and conservative commentators who called the deflection a sign of political weakness heading into a competitive Senate race.
Flanagan's exact words on the broadcast left little room for ambiguity about where she wanted the blame to land. When asked about accountability, she offered a careful, rehearsed pivot.
Flanagan told the MSNOW hosts:
"I would say, the governor says the buck stops with him, more should have been done sooner, and I agree."
She then cited the criminal enforcement numbers as evidence of progress.
"And now we know that 100 people have been charged, 60 have been convicted."
Those figures, 100 charged, 60 convicted, are real. But they represent a fraction of a scandal that federal investigators have pegged at more than $9 billion in fraud tied to Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. No top officials in the Walz administration have been fired or removed from office. Walz himself dropped his bid for re-election, a decision widely linked to the scandal's political fallout.
Flanagan has served alongside Walz since 2019. She was not a bystander. She was the number-two official in the executive branch of a state where, as critics have noted, the fraud had become an open secret over the past few years.
A separate House oversight report previously detailed how the Walz administration ignored fraud warnings as billions in federal funds disappeared, context that makes Flanagan's dodge all the more glaring.
Michele Tafoya, the former sports broadcaster now running as the Republican nominee against Flanagan in November, wasted no time. She posted on X within hours of the interview clip circulating.
"Peggy Flanagan refuses to take any responsibility and accountability for billions of our tax dollars being stolen under her watch as lieutenant governor. Minnesotans deserve better than excuses. They deserve leaders who will take responsibility and get the job done."
Tafoya also drew attention to the fact that Flanagan won the Democratic Senate primary Tuesday night and did not mention the fraud scandal once during her victory speech. For a candidate whose state just lived through the largest fraud case in its history, that silence said plenty.
The Republican National Committee amplified the moment as well. Its research arm posted on X: "Minnesota Democrat Peggy Flanagan blames Tim Walz and dodges accountability for rampant fraud in her state."
Conservative radio host Larry O'Connor framed it as a strategic gift to Tafoya: "She KNOWS she's vulnerable on this. Huge opening for @Michele_Tafoya."
Townhall columnist Dustin Grage was more blunt: "Here is Peggy Flanagan blaming Tim Walz for the fraud. Oh yeah, she knows she's cooked if she rightfully gets tied to the fraud."
The sharpest institutional criticism came from Minnesota Republican State Rep. Kristin Robbins, who chaired the state House's Fraud Prevention and Oversight Committee. Robbins posted on X this week with a charge that went beyond political messaging and into specific institutional failure.
"@peggyflanagan did NOTHING to protect vulnerable citizens & taxpayers despite countless whistleblower reports, Auditor reports, & criminal convictions. Peggy Flanagan, @Tim_Walz & @keithellison protected their political base instead of stopping the fraud."
Robbins's accusation raises a question Flanagan has not publicly answered: if whistleblower reports and auditor findings flagged problems, what did the lieutenant governor's office do with that information? Flanagan's interview offered no specifics about any action she personally took, or any alarm she personally raised, during the years the fraud ballooned.
Vice President JD Vance previously sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice naming both Walz and Keith Ellison in connection with the Minnesota fraud allegations, underscoring how far beyond state politics this scandal has reached.
Walz appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 4, 2026, to answer questions about the alleged misuse of federal funds intended for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. That hearing put the governor on the record under oath.
Flanagan, by contrast, has faced no comparable formal accountability. Her Thursday interview was the closest she has come to addressing the scandal publicly, and her answer amounted to pointing at the man who already sat in the witness chair.
The broader political environment around Walz continues to generate controversy. His decision to pardon a convicted child sex offender drew national attention, and ongoing fraud scrutiny in Minnesota has kept the state's Democratic leadership under sustained pressure.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Flanagan campaign for comment. No response was included in the reporting.
Flanagan's strategy appears built on a simple bet: that voters will blame Walz, who already abandoned his re-election campaign, and give her a pass as the subordinate who merely "agreed" more should have been done. The trouble with that bet is arithmetic. She held the second-highest office in the state for seven years while federal investigators say $9 billion in fraud piled up. One hundred people have been charged. Sixty have been convicted. And no top official has been fired.
Tafoya now has a clear line of attack for November: Flanagan was either complicit in the inaction or irrelevant to the governance of her own state. Neither answer helps a Senate campaign.
When $9 billion disappears and the person second in command says the buck stops with someone else, voters have a right to ask what exactly she was doing with her desk.
