Former first lady Jill Biden visited Minnesota in 2022 to highlight the American Rescue Plan’s childcare investments, where she praised Governor Tim Walz for his leadership in helping families during the pandemic.

“We helped states like Minnesota safely keep open child care centers and family child care providers and boost pay for their workers,” Biden said during her February 2022 visit to the University of Minnesota’s Child Development Laboratory School, appearing alongside Walz and then-Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

At the event, Biden emphasized how the funding supported high-quality childcare providers and made services more affordable for families. She directly addressed Walz, stating, “Tim, you understand that childcare is not only critical to families, it’s critical to businesses and our economy.”

The American Rescue Plan Act, passed in 2021 without Republican support, allocated nearly $40 billion for childcare as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-era relief package. According to local reports, Minnesota daycares alone received approximately $500 million in federal funds that year.

However, the situation in Minnesota has dramatically changed since Biden’s visit. This week, a major state audit conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor revealed widespread failures and internal control problems in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration grant program.

The scathing report found that between July 2022 and December 2024, the department distributed more than $425 million in grants to 830 organizations without proper oversight. The audit documented missing progress reports and incomplete monitoring of funds that were intended to help people with addiction and mental health issues.

When department employees were surveyed, 73% reported they had not received adequate training to properly administer grants. One employee was quoted saying, “Executive leadership has repetitively shown staff that they won’t take the staff’s concerns or questions seriously until something serious happens or it makes the news.”

This latest audit adds to mounting concerns about fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs. Federal investigators are currently examining what prosecutors suggest could be up to $9 billion in fraudulent activity across multiple programs, including Medicaid and the childcare sector.

The political fallout has been severe. Earlier this month, Governor Walz announced he would not seek re-election, citing that he could not give a political campaign his full effort while the state faces these ongoing investigations. During his announcement, Walz took no questions from reporters.

Some reports have suggested that several Minnesota Democratic leaders allegedly received campaign donations from individuals now accused of committing fraud. Other allegations indicate that Walz may have retaliated against whistleblowers who attempted to raise concerns about the developing fraud schemes.

The contrast between Biden’s 2022 praise for Walz’s leadership in distributing pandemic relief funds and the current fraud investigations raises questions about oversight of federal funding during the pandemic. The childcare sector, which Biden specifically highlighted during her visit, is now among the areas under scrutiny in what has become one of the largest fraud investigations in Minnesota history.

The Biden administration has not yet commented publicly on the developing situation in Minnesota or the allegations surrounding Walz’s administration. Requests for comment from representatives of both Joe and Jill Biden went unanswered at the time of publication.

The ongoing investigations and their political repercussions continue to unfold as federal authorities work to determine the full scope of the alleged fraud and whether adequate safeguards were in place to protect taxpayer funds intended for vulnerable populations during the pandemic.