Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul attend a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Minnesota GOP Rep. Jim Nash, one of two Republicans on the state's Legislative Advisory Commission, questioned why Walz felt compelled to get outside counsel rather than work with the state's attorneys and public relations specialists.
"A half a million dollars of taxpayer money to prepare the governor to go to his old stomping grounds seems exorbitant, particularly since the AG for the state of Minnesota was in Congress with Walz at the same time, and the two of them certainly could have figured out how to do what they were needing to do," he said.
Nash added that he intends to dig deeper into scrutinizing the invoices obtained by the Star Tribune.
Tim Walz (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Teddy Tschann, a Walz spokesperson, described the hearing as a "planned political stunt on the taxpayer dime," the Star Tribune reported.
"They were too busy performing for the cameras to even feign interest in hearing from Gov. Walz about Minnesota’s balanced approach to immigration," Tschann added. "What’s most frustrating is that Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber planned this spectacle knowing what it would cost and went through with it anyway."
When asked directly about the legal bill, Walz told reporters the GOP-led hearing was "not where I wanted to spend money. It’s not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved that there was nothing there other than using it as grandstanding."
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While the hefty legal bill has garnered Walz backlash this week, it wouldn't be the first time a governor has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal advice. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said earlier this year after attending a hearing in the nation's capital she expected to pay around $650,000 to the law firm that helped her prepare.
The City of Denver also forked over $250,000 for outside legal counsel earlier this year to prepare the city's mayor, Mike Johnston, for a congressional hearing.
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's office and K&L Gates for comment but did not receive a response from either.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tim-walz-blasted-costing-minnesota-taxpayers-430k-legal-prep-ahead-hill-hearing