Tafoya says Flanagan deserves a pink slip rather than promotion
Michele TafoyaRepublican U.S. Senate nominee in Minnesota
Tafoya argues that fraud and other failures during the Walz-Flanagan administration disqualify Flanagan from promotion to the Senate.
“You're her boss. You pay her. I think she deserves a pink slip.”
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
In her closing remarks, Tafoya lists her criticisms of the state administration, including the fraud losses she alleges.
After the quotation
She presents herself as an alternative on taxes, spending and public safety.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Flanagan's conduct in the administration, Tafoya expressly condemns her record and asks voters to reject her Senate candidacy.
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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
Flanagan says Walz had oversight of the fraud response
“the buck stops with him. He was the one who had oversight here.”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. "Tafoya says Flanagan deserves a pink slip rather than promotion". First published: 2026-10-25. Last updated: 2026-10-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/6761-tafoya-argues-that-fraud-and-other-failures-during