Flanagan says Walz had oversight of the fraud response
Peggy FlanaganMinnesota lieutenant governor and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee
Asked what responsibility she accepts, Flanagan says Walz had oversight while she led work on family leave, the child tax credit and school meals. She also says more should have been done sooner and supports stronger oversight and penalties.
“the buck stops with him. He was the one who had oversight here.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Michele Tafoya’s accusation that Peggy Flanagan is “hiding from” Minnesota’s welfare-fraud scandal
In a September 13, 2026 post, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya said her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, “is hiding from the fraud” in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future scandal and “let it happen.” Feeding Our Future was a nonprofit that authorities said fraudulently obtained federal child-nutrition funds during the COVID-19 pandemic; its executive director, Aimee Bock, was convicted at trial in 2025. Flanagan was not charged and has not been accused of personally approving fraudulent payments. Asked about the scandal on the podcast Lovett or Leave It on September 20, Flanagan said fraud “is completely unacceptable,” that she supported a new independent inspector general’s office, and that Minnesota is “prosecuting fraudsters” while President Trump “is pardoning the fraudsters” who defraud Medicaid.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
MPR News hosts the candidates' debate, including questions about Flanagan's responsibility for the state administration's fraud response.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Brian Bakst asks what ownership she has over how the administration responded to fraud.
After the quotation
Tafoya challenges the distinction, saying Flanagan had demanded a place in the administration's decisions.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the allegation that Flanagan failed to oversee the fraud response, she disputes the account of her role by locating that responsibility with the governor.
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More from this case
Read the full caseHewitt backs Tafoya's criticism of Flanagan's record
“the hot mess that Walz and Flanagan have left the state in after eight years of hapless indifference”Read statement
Tafoya says Flanagan deserves a pink slip rather than promotion
“You're her boss. You pay her. I think she deserves a pink slip.”Read statement
Flanagan says fraud response was outside her assigned duties
“I was not tasked with the fraud response ... My job as lieutenant governor ... is to lean on the issues that I’ve been leaning on for a long time, which is children and families.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Flanagan says Walz had oversight of the fraud response". First published: 2026-10-25. Last updated: 2026-10-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/6760-asked-what-responsibility-she-accepts-flanagan-says-walz