Trump claims Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Ilhan Omar are ‘complicit’ in fraud while signing exec order

Trump signs executive order creating a national task force to combat fraud while criticizing Minnesota’s political leadership.
PUBLISHED MAR 17, 2026
Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison face criticism from Trump over alleged fraud in Minnesota programs.(Getty Images)
Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison face criticism from Trump over alleged fraud in Minnesota programs.(Getty Images)


WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance signed an executive order on Monday, March 16, creating a nationwide task force aimed at combating fraud across the United States.

During the signing event, Trump highlighted several states, including Minnesota and California, where taxpayers have reportedly lost millions of dollars through fraud in federally funded programs. The president used the moment to criticize Minnesota’s political leadership, claiming they were "complicit" in ongoing fraud issues in the state.

Donald Trump looks at a marker before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Donald Trump looks at a marker before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump criticizes Tim Walz, Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar over Minnesota fraud

According to Trump, Minnesota has been at the center of several major fraud investigations involving programs such as 'Feeding Our Future,' Somali-run child care centers, autism services, and the Housing Stabilization program.

While discussing the issue, Trump directly criticized Minnesota’s political leadership. He said, "Everyone knows they've been cheating for years. Uh it's the first ever and it's got to be stopped. I mean, it's got to be stopped. It's think of it."

Trump then focused on Somalia, saying, "It is a third world, maybe a fourth world nation. One of the worst, one of the most dangerous. They don't have anything. They don't have councils. They don't have government. They don't have police. They shoot each other all over the place. They come here and they steal $19 billion dollars."

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as Vice President JD Vance (C) and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson (R) look on during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump signed an executive order that creates a task force on fraud to be headed by Vice President J.D. Vance. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Donald Trump speaks to the media as JD Vance and Andrew Ferguson look on during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

During the event, Trump also repeated rumors about Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, "And Ilhan Omar, I hope this is part of it, but she married her brother supposedly. I mean, if there's a lot of documentation that means she's here illegally and she's a congresswoman. And I hope you're going to be looking at that or somebody is."

During the executive order signing, Trump further accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Omar, saying, "When you look at the Minnesota scam, a lot of it has to do with Somalia. I believe the governor is complicit, I believe Ilhan Omar is complicit, I believe your attorney general is complicit.”

He added that uncovering even half of the fraud occurring in the country could lead to a balanced budget and called the level of theft “incredible.”

Aliya Rahman, a guest of Rep. Ilan Omar (D- MN) and a Minneapolis resident who was detained by DHS agents, is escorted from the chamber as Trump delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Aliya Rahman, a guest of Ilan Omar and a Minneapolis resident who was detained by DHS agents, is escorted from the chamber as Trump delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the US Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ilhan Omar’s feud With Trump and Vance’s Minnesota corruption remarks

Omar has represented Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District since 2019. She also had a verbal dispute with Trump during last month’s State of the Union address, during which her guest Aliyah Rahman was arrested for “unlawful conduct” and removed from the chamber but was never charged.

Rahman, later said, “I was not just removed and arrested. I was arrested so physically that two other attendees upstairs attempted to intervene in officers pulling on my shoulders after I told them I have a torn rotator cuff tendon and multiple cartilage tears in both of my shoulders.”

Vance also joined the discussion about Medicaid fraud, stated, "We saw evidence that in Minneapolis there were Somali, primarily illegal immigrants who were defrauding a Medicaid program that was meant to go to autistic children."

Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks to the media as President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump signed an executive order that creates a task force on fraud to be headed by Vance. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
JD Vance speaks to the media as Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

He continued, "So they were taking children who were supposed to get benefits and they were claiming that their kids were actually autistic even though they weren't. And what did this mean? This meant two things. Number one, you had a lot of people getting rich off of the fraud while American citizens got poor."

Vance further said, "And the second thing that it meant is that you had autistic kids in Minneapolis, in suburban Minneapolis, who weren't getting benefits they needed because Somali fraudsters were literally stealing out of their pocket."

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