Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. January 5, 2026. (Reuters/Tim Evans)
Walz, who is best known for being former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election, has been at odds with the administration throughout much of the operation, which was meant to crack down on rampant fraud and abuse in the state.
Regarding the federal drawdown, Walz said, "We are cautiously optimistic … that this surge of untrained, aggressive federal agents are going to leave Minnesota, and I guess they’ll go wherever they’re going to go."
"The fact of the matter is, they left us with deep damage, generational trauma, they left us with economic ruin in some cases, they left us with many unanswered questions: Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?" he continued.
"So, while the federal government may move on to whatever next thing that they want to do, the State of Minnesota and our administration is unwaveringly focused on the recovery of what they did."
White House 'border czar' Tom Homan speaks during a press conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 4, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
He said only a "small footprint of personnel" will remain for a period of time, while he will also remain on the ground to oversee the operation’s drawdown and success.
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"Additionally, federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done," Homan said.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tim-walz-demands-federal-government-pay-what-broke-after-homan-announces-minnesota-drawdown