“There’s been record fraud over the last six years with Gov. Walz at the helm of the state,” Demuth, a Republican, said in an interview with Politico. “There hasn’t been any serious consideration given to stopping that fraud.” 

Minnesota faces problems with fraud

There’s been approximately $610 million worth of fraud in the state in the past six years, including a scheme that siphoned government funding meant to feed low-income children. Walz signed an executive order in January creating a “fraud investigations unit” and announced a legislative package to “prevent, detect, investigate, and penalize fraud in state programs.”

Still, Demuth accused the state government of not taking enough steps to address the abuse and said that now with Republicans in charge, things will be different.

“With having a Republican chair at the helm of the [fraud] committee, we’re able to have the hearings as necessary and then potentially move policy through to stop that,” Demuth told the outlet. 

The state gets a new House speaker

Demuth was selected to lead the Minnesota House earlier this month after a weekslong power struggle between Democrats and Republicans came to a close.

The 2024 election results led to Democrats and Republicans having a 67-67 tie in the state House, but a Democratic member was disqualified, leading to Republicans holding a temporary 67-66 majority until a special election took place. Democrats argued Republicans couldn’t hold power unless they had a majority of 68, and they boycotted House sessions for the first few weeks of the session.

Demuth eventually won the speakership after the parties came to a power sharing agreement in which both parties would have their own sets of co-chairs and co-vice chairs on each committee. The special election for the seat Democrats lost is on March 11, and Democrats are expected to win it, which would split the chamber in an exact tie among Democrats and Republicans once again.

“But we know from the beginning that we’re going to have to work together in a bipartisan fashion to move any bills off the House floor with at least 68 votes,” Demuth told the outlet about the quarrels at the start of the year. “So even though there’s been the tension in the beginning, we recognize the need to work together.”

This bipartisan relationship will likely exist under Walz. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the governor announced that he is seeking the possibility of running for a third term. 

“Governor Walz is not running for the United States Senate,” Walz spokesman Teddy Tschann said. “He loves his job as Governor and he’s exploring the possibility of another term to continue his work to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids.”

REPUBLICANS TURN TO 2025 GOVERNOR BATTLES AS PARTY LOOKS TO RIDE 2024 SUCCESS

However, Demuth attributed Republicans’ success in the North Star State this past election to voters being fed up with what’s transpired under Democratic control. 

“Minnesotans watched what was taking place in our state over the last two years with full Democrat control,” the speaker said. “We know that we spent an $18 billion surplus and raised taxes and fees on every Minnesotan by another $10 billion. So just the fiscal spending [under] one-party control, [we] needed to make a change. And that’s what voters said.”