2026年8月13日 美国东部时间上午8:00 / 福克斯新闻网
作为国会中级别最高的明尼苏达州籍议员，埃默表示佩吉·弗拉纳根在瓦尔兹政府时期“始终身处核心位置”
作者：伊丽莎白·埃尔金德，福克斯新闻网
众议院多数党党鞭汤姆·埃默接受了福克斯新闻数字频道的采访，谈及明尼苏达州空缺席位的参议院竞选。
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去年下半年震动明尼苏达州州政府的福利欺诈丑闻，如今将成为该州空缺席位参议院竞选的核心议题，这位国会中级别最高的明尼苏达州籍议员表示。
众议院多数党党鞭、明尼苏达州共和党议员汤姆·埃默预测，蒂姆·瓦尔兹州长任内发生的大规模欺诈事件，将拖累其副手——周二晚间赢得民主党提名的副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根的竞选活动。
“我认为欺诈将贯穿始终。佩吉·弗拉纳根全程都在其中，”埃默告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“她将被蒂姆·瓦尔兹那令人不齿的名声玷污。”
佩吉·弗拉纳根担任明尼苏达州二号人物期间，州政府眼皮底下爆发大规模欺诈丑闻
明尼苏达州副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根，蒂姆·瓦尔兹州长的副手，正在竞选联邦参议员。（大卫·保罗·莫里斯/彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社；安娜·莫尼梅克/盖蒂图片社）
他认为，瓦尔兹和明尼苏达州总检察长基思·埃利森都将成为弗拉纳根参选的“拖累”。
新冠疫情期间，欺诈者骗取了明尼苏达州州级福利项目中数百万美元的纳税人资金。
事件始于非营利组织“喂养我们的未来”，该组织的领导人向州政府提交虚假数据，谎称与学校、餐厅和餐饮服务商合作，为明尼苏达州学生提供餐食。
州政府在2021年就将可疑情况通报给了联邦调查局。自那以来，包括创始人艾梅·博克在内的约80名被告已被起诉。今年早些时候，博克因一项检察官称涉及约2.5亿美元纳税人资金的骗局被判处500个月监禁。
明尼苏达州男子系司法部“头号通缉欺诈犯”名单中FBI首次抓获的嫌犯
此后，联邦官员表示，包括儿童保育、自闭症儿童救助和低收入住房在内的项目都存在纳税人资金被欺诈浪费的情况。
2025年12月18日，联邦特工在明尼苏达州布卢明顿市对终极家庭保健服务公司执行搜查令，搜查涉嫌医疗补助欺诈。（克里斯托弗·朱恩/阿纳多卢通讯社 via 盖蒂图片社）
联邦官员指责州民主党人未能采取足够措施铲除欺诈行为。但瓦尔兹和埃利森均指责共和党人夸大了这一丑闻的规模，将其作为政治攻击手段，不过审查压力迫使瓦尔兹放弃了连任州长的竞选计划。
这一话题在弗拉纳根与其主要对手、温和派民主党联邦众议员安吉·克雷格的近期辩论中被提及。克雷格认为，弗拉纳根当时在州政府中的职位将使其容易受到攻击。
“副州长，即便到今天，仍未为任何欺诈问题承担丝毫责任，还一直在指责州长，”克雷格据明尼苏达公共广播电台（MPR News）报道称，“老实说，这让我很恼火。”
塔福亚向不满的民主党人打出“常识”牌，承诺对抗明尼苏达州的“社会主义转向”
作为瓦尔兹最严厉的批评者之一，埃默对此表示赞同。
“欺诈、无能和腐败——这就是瓦尔兹政府的代名词。而她在瓦尔兹政府中始终身处核心位置，”埃默说，“她正置身于美国规模最大的欺诈丑闻之一的中心，这场丑闻就发生在明尼苏达州。”
这位众议院多数党党鞭还指责弗拉纳根支持极左翼政策立场，比大多数明尼苏达州人都要激进。
2025年10月28日，众议院多数党党鞭汤姆·埃默在华盛顿特区的新闻发布会上发言。（内森·波斯纳/阿纳多卢通讯社 via 盖蒂图片社）
“她是来自明尼阿波利斯的马克思主义疯子，”埃默说，“有一大堆古怪、脱离现实的言论，我们今天不必细说，但大家会看到这些内容被重新翻出来。”
【点击此处下载福克斯新闻APP】
弗拉纳根的共和党对手是前体育播音员米歇尔·塔福亚。
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系弗拉纳根的竞选团队置评。
伊丽莎白·埃尔金德是福克斯新闻数字频道的政治记者，负责众议院的报道。此前曾在《每日邮报》和哥伦比亚广播公司新闻发表报道。
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Minnesota fraud scandal will haunt Flanagan in high-stakes Senate race, top House Republican warns
August 13, 2026 8:00am EDT / Fox News
Emmer, the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, says Peggy Flanagan was ‘front and center’ during the Walz admin
By Elizabeth Elkind, Fox News
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer spoke with Fox News Digital about the race for the open Senate seat in Minnesota.
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The welfare fraud scandal that rocked Minnesota’s state government late last year will now be a central issue in the race for its open Senate seat, the top Minnesotan in Congress said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is predicting that the rampant fraud that occurred under Gov. Tim Walz’s administration will now sandbag the campaign of his top deputy, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night.
“I think fraud is going to be the theme all the way through. Peggy Flanagan was there every step of the way,” Emmer told Fox News Digital. “She is going be tainted by Tim Walz’s disgusting reputation.”
PEGGY FLANAGAN WAS MINNESOTA’S NO 2 OFFICIAL AS MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL EXPLODED UNDER STATE’S WATCH
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who serves under Gov. Tim Walz, is running for U.S. Senate.(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
He argued that both Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would be a “weight” on Flanagan’s candidacy.
Fraudsters managed to swindle Minnesota’s state welfare programs out of millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer funds dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It kicked off with the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, whose leaders submitted falsified data to the state government while claiming to be working with schools, restaurants and caterers to feed Minnesota students.
The state government flagged suspicions to the FBI in 2021. Since then, roughly 80 defendants, including founder Aimee Bock, have been indicted. Bock was sentenced to 500 months in prison earlier this year for a scheme that prosecutors say affected some $250 million in taxpayer funds.
MINNESOTA MAN MARKS FBI’S FIRST ARREST FROM DOJ’S ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST
Since then, federal officials have claimed that programs, including those that deal with childcare, helping children with autism and low-income housing, have been subject to fraudulent waste of taxpayer dollars.
Federal agents enter an office building as a search warrant is executed at Ultimate Home Health Services over potential Medicaid fraud on Dec. 18, 2025, in Bloomington, Minn.(Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Federal officials accused state Democrats of not doing enough to weed out fraud. But Walz and Ellison have both accused Republicans of overrepresenting the size of the scandal as a political attack, though the scrutiny forced Walz to drop his re-election bid for another term as governor.
The topic came up in a recent debate between Flanagan and her primary opponent, moderate Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. Craig argued Flanagan’s role in state government at the time would make her vulnerable to attacks.
“The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor,” Craig said, according to MPR News. “And I’m going to be honest: It’s pissing me off.”
TAFOYA MAKES ‘COMMON SENSE’ PITCH TO DISAFFECTED DEMOCRATS AS SHE VOWS TO FIGHT MINNESOTA’S ‘SOCIALIST LURCH’
And Emmer — unsurprisingly as one of Walz’s biggest critics — agreed.
“Fraud, incompetence and corruption — that is what the Walz administration has been known for. And she’s been front and center in the Walz administration,” Emmer said. “She is right in the center of one of the biggest fraud scandals in America, right here in Minnesota.”
The House majority whip also accused Flanagan of embracing far-left policy positions that are further left than most Minnesotans.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2025.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“She’s a Marxist communist nut bag from Minneapolis,” Emmer said. “There is a treasure trove of wackadoodle, just out-of-touch statements, which we don’t have to get into today, but you’re going to see those be resurrected.”
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Flanagan is running against Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster.
Fox News Digital reached out to Flanagan’s campaign for comment.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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