I’ll lay out how massive waste and fraud in the federal budget was exposed, why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the numbers are staggering, how that ties to the Minnesota scandal, the specific charges Bessent leveled at Gov. Tim Walz, and what investigators are doing now.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Christopher Rufo that hundreds of billions of dollars disappear from the federal budget each year to waste, fraud, and abuse, and he backed that claim with the government accounting office’s estimates. He framed the figure as “about 10 percent of the federal budget,” and added it amounts to “One to two percent of the GDP.” Those are huge numbers that change how you think about priorities and security.
Bessent made clear this isn’t a made-up talking point. He pointed to official GAO analysis that found between $233 billion and $521 billion lost annually to fraud during fiscal years 2018 through 2022 and noted improper payments since fiscal year 2003 have likely cost taxpayers about $2.8 trillion. When you hear that kind of money is vanishing, you have to ask where accountability went and why oversight failed.
He argued the implications are simple and practical. Cut down that level of fraud and waste and you unlock money for rebuilding the military, fixing programs that work, paying down debt, or investing in priorities without raising taxes. For conservatives who care about national strength and fiscal sanity, that argument lands hard: reform spending and you don’t have to beg for new revenue.
Bessent and Treasury’s financial team say they are moving to clamp down on the problem, coordinating with investigative agencies across government. That work isn’t just about audits; it’s about tightening processes, chasing leads, and holding officials accountable when records and procedures are crooked. That broader fight is exactly where federal power should be focused to protect taxpayers’ money.
Rufo had planned an on-site interview, but Bessent declined to meet at the Minnesota Capitol, citing safety and cooperation concerns. When asked why, Bessent didn’t mince words. “Tim Walz is a coward,” Bessent said angrily.
He would not guarantee that the Treasury Secretary of the United States of America would have police protection in the Minnesota state Capitol. He is afraid of what is coming, and he’s not going to be able to hide behind this curtain because we will get there. And I don’t have to go into the Capitol building to investigate him.
Bessent offered a straightforward alternative: come to the Treasury building and he’ll guarantee safety for any questioning. That invitation flips the script and shows confidence in federal oversight, while calling out a state leader who apparently refuses basic cooperation. From a Republican perspective, it reads like a clear refusal to be transparent when scrutiny gets real.
The Minnesota situation has already had political consequences. Walz stepped away from his reelection bid amid the fallout of a statewide fraud scandal, and auditors flagged troubling issues about altered records and missing accountability. Those developments make Bessent’s blunt warnings more than rhetoric; they tie into a pattern of mismanagement that cost real dollars and now threatens political careers.
Bessent warned that investigators will pursue answers whether or not they get immediate cooperation from state officials, and he emphasized that you don’t need to walk into a particular building to do that work. That practical posture—follow the money, use data, and prosecute fraud—even when local officials obstruct, is the posture Republicans have long called for in cleaning up federal and state waste.
The broader picture is uncomfortable: trillions in improper payments, hundreds of billions annually to direct fraud, and a system that has tolerated sloppiness for years. If the Treasury and oversight partners make good on promises to tighten controls, the payoff could be enormous. It would mean better-funded priorities, fewer bailouts of broken programs, and a clearer path back to fiscal responsibility.
For now, Bessent’s language and the GAO figures put pressure on state leaders implicated in the scandal and on national systems that allowed such leakage. If the investigation proceeds, expect more hard truths to emerge and more officials to face scrutiny. The money is the story; the politics follow.
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