Fresh from announcing that he will no longer seek a third term, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held a press event Tuesday where he lashed out at the federal government and seemingly declared war on Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature.
Speaking at a press conference about the launch of Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave program, Walz heralded the initiative before taking questions from the media. Those questions quickly dispensed with paid leave and focused instead on the political.
Taking those questions, Walz was sharply critical of the federal government and spoke of a “war that’s being waged against Minnesota.”
In recent days, the Trump Administration has sent a surge of roughly 2,000 immigration officers to Minnesota. Acting Director Todd Lyons of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) referred to the Minnesota effort as the “largest immigration operation ever.”
MURDERERS HAVE NO HOME IN MINNEAPOLIS.@Sec_Noem and our brave DHS law enforcement have taken Tomas Espin Tapia off the streets, an Ecuadorian illegal alien convicted of robbery and WANTED for MURDER and SEXUAL ASSAULT.
To the criminals living among us, you are NOT our… pic.twitter.com/mj7vbt6SAk
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 6, 2026
This operation comes as the national spotlight falls on Minnesota’s widespread Somali fraud problem, and as the federal government continues to investigate immigration fraud in the state.
On Tuesday, Walz referred to this new immigration operation as “a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us that are for a show of the cameras.”
Elaborating on the other parts of this so-called “war” on Minnesota, Walz criticized the federal government’s decision to freeze some of Minnesota’s federal funds, lambasted a social media post about Melissa Hortman that was shared by President Donald Trump, and said “what [Trump’s] doing to the Somali community is absolutely unconscionable.”
Referencing this “war” and his decision not to seek another term, Walz said he was going to “fight this without having to spend anytime worrying about the politics of this. I’m going to fight it making sure that Minnesotans are cared for.”
Shockingly, Walz also criticized First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, the prosecutor who has led the federal government’s many cases against Somali fraudsters.
The governor, who said Thompson “would have been let go by any other administration,” dismissed Thompson’s estimation that fraud in Minnesota could top $9 billion.
BREAKING: Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who dropped his bid for reelection yesterday, appears to suggest that Joe Thompson, the top fraud prosecutor in the state, should be "let go."
"You saw a US attorney stand up, which has been released by … would have been let go by… pic.twitter.com/yfjY1S1rZt
— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) January 6, 2026
“We are under assault like no other time in our state’s history because of a petty, vile administration that doesn’t care about the well-being of Minnesotans,” Walz said. “My job is to protect the well-being of Minnesotans.”
Walz, who was particularly animated during his remarks, also said Republicans would lose the upcoming governor’s race “dramatically.”
Giving a preview of what he wants to do with his final year in office, Walz again voiced his support for new gun legislation, saying Republicans in the state legislature “are going to take votes on protecting our children or they’re not gonna get anything else done.”
Surprisingly, the governor also announced he is pushing to make the Minnesota Legislature subject to the Minnesota Data Practices Act.
In Minnesota, almost every public entity from the governor’s office to state agencies, city governments, county governments, and school boards are subject to the data practices law which allows private citizens to obtain public government data from those entities.
This public data may include government contracts, the emails of government officials, and other documents. However, the Minnesota Legislature is exempt from this law.
On Tuesday, Walz appeared to accuse Republican legislators of not being forthcoming on multiple topics and declared that “we need data practices with the legislature right now.”
Continuing his criticism of Republicans, the governor said, “Republicans want to tear this state down. Republicans want to tell you it’s too dangerous to walk down the streets. Republicans want to tell you there’s nothing good comes out of Minneapolis, St. Paul.
“Republicans want to tell you everybody with brown skin is stealing money, or that they’re not welcome here. They want to do nothing to improve this state. Their idea of improving this state is being a parrot for Donald Trump, agreeing to everything he agreed with.”
Speaking to those who have called for his resignation, Walz said, “It ain’t happening. I’m not going anywhere. And you can make all your requests for me to resign — over my dead body will that happen. I will fight this thing until the very end to make this state better.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
