Staff Reports
President Trump didn’t invent this scandal; brave prosecutors and federal auditors did the digging and the numbers are shocking enough to wake every taxpayer. Federal investigators say what looks like industrial-scale fraud may have bled off roughly $9 billion from state-run programs in Minnesota, and that figure is now the center of a sprawling criminal probe. Americans deserve to know how deeply the Biden-era priorities and swampy procurement practices allowed this to happen.
This wasn’t a small bookkeeping error — federal prosecutors publicly described programs that funneled billions into shell operations that provided little or no services to the very people the system was meant to help. The alleged abuse stretches back years, with auditors flagging multiple high-risk Medicaid services and housing-stability initiatives for fraudulent billing and phantom clients. Ordinary Minnesotans and taxpayers across the country paid the bill while bureaucrats looked the other way.
At the same time, the Small Business Administration has ordered every participant in the 8(a) contracting program to turn over financial records as part of a wider effort to root out fraud and restore integrity to federal contracting. The SBA and Treasury audits are now combing through billions in preferred-contract awards that critics say were handed out under equity-driven policies with little oversight. If these audits confirm widespread abuse, the scale of theft from taxpayers will be undeniable and the calls for accountability should be thunderous.
Make no mistake: the ideological obsession with diversity, equity and inclusion drove procurement decisions that too often prioritized politics over performance and opened the door for gaming the system. Conservative watchdogs have warned for years that preference-based contracting without ironclad safeguards invites abuse, and those warnings now look vindicated by preliminary audit findings and indictments. This is not merely a policy disagreement — it’s a moral and fiscal failure that cost hardworking Americans billions.
President Trump has rightly seized on these revelations to demand consequences and to force transparency from agencies that have long protected their favorites. Republicans and taxpayers should push every inspector general, every watchdog, and every attorney general to follow the money until those responsible are prosecuted and the money is returned. The swamp will scream, but justice and the rule of law are not negotiable.
What comes next is simple: fire the officials who turned blind eyes, claw back ill-gotten contracts, and reform procurement rules so merit and competence — not political checklists — decide who serves the American people. Congress must hold hearings, cut off the gravy train, and rewrite the 8(a) and preference-based contracting rules so fraudsters can’t exploit them again. Patriots should demand reform that protects legitimate small businesses and stops taxpayer-funded theft.
Americans are tired of being told to “trust the experts” while their paychecks are siphoned off by schemes that enrich insiders and leave citizens worse off. This is a wake-up call: restore accountability, secure our institutions, and elect leaders who put country over ideology. If President Trump keeps pushing, and if decent Americans keep fighting, we can reclaim the public trust and make sure those billions — and the justice due — are recovered.
