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Michele Tafoya on Welfare & Poverty

 

 


Why release federal money to states with fraud?

Q: The Trump administration has withheld millions for Medicaid citing fraud. Are you in line with this approach?

Tafoya: Here is how I would approach fraud. Number one, if you are a guest of this country and defraud Americans, you must leave and you should have no pathway back. Number two, if you are an American and you defraud your fellow Americans, we should be talking about mandatory prison minimums, tough sentences, not easy-going slap on the wrist. Number three, if you are a state like Minnesota who cannot keep your financial house in order, why would the federal government release billions and billions of dollars to you only to see it go to fraud?

Flanagan: Michele Tafoya talks about this specific bill with regards to people who commit fraud, this is Ted Cruz’s bill which essentially allows an individual, an I.C.E. agent, to simply accuse somebody of a crime or misdoing and they will be deported without due process. That is unconstitutional. We should not stand for it.

Source: C-SPAN transcript of 2026 Minnesota Senate debate , Oct 16, 2026

Other candidates on Welfare & Poverty: Michele Tafoya on other issues:
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Jeff Johnson 2026
Lisa Demuth
Michelle Benson
Mike Lindell
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