In 2025, Demuth supported policies to “root out fraud” in government while Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” used fraud as an excuse to dismantle federal agencies. Demuth pledged to create an “Office of Inspector General” as governor, which would “root out fraud in all parts of government.” Additionally, as Minnesota Republicans sought to emulate DOGE tactics, Demuth touted “similar efforts” in Minnesota and uplifted the state’s new “whistleblower website,” which allowed “state workers to report potential fraud.”
Trump and Elon Musk asserted that DOGE would “put an end to fraudulent and wasteful spending,” and did so through funding cuts that threatened the livelihoods of 20,000 federal employees in Minnesota and canceled leases for 11 federal offices. DOGE also cut funding to AmeriCorps, affordable housing nonprofits, and National Endowment for the Humanities grants.
2026: Demuth Wanted To Create An “Office Of Inspector General,” Which Would “Root Out Fraud In All Parts Of Government.” According to Demuth Wilson for Minnesota, “Under Tim Walz's watch, fraud has exploded with billions of your hard-earned tax dollars stolen by criminals who used it to buy foreign real estate, luxury cars, and more. I will end the culture of fraud and corruption in state government and demand accountability from state workers responsible for managing the state programs that have been abused by fraudsters. I will work with the legislature to pass a non-partisan Office of Inspector General who will be empowered to root out fraud in all parts of government, and be a partner for my administration in stopping fraud before it starts instead of waiting until the fraudsters have walked out the door with your money.” [Demuth Wilson For Minnesota, Archived 1/9/26]
March 2025: As Minnesota Republicans Tried To Emulate Trump’s DOGE Tactics, Demuth Said Lawmakers Were Already “Taking On Similar Efforts” And Touted Minnesota’s New “Whistleblower Website,” Which Allowed “State Workers To Report Potential Fraud And Abuse Of State Dollars.” According to MPR News, “Meanwhile, Republicans are borrowing a bit from Musk’s playbook, suggesting Minnesota inject more of his cost-cutting philosophy into the state’s budget work. While the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — and its Musk are a thousand miles away, they’re a central talking point in St. Paul. […] House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said lawmakers are taking on similar efforts already. ‘Legislators can do the work that’s needed,’ Demuth said. ‘We have to almost line by line (review) everything. We have a new thinking about the fraud protections, we have a new whistleblower website.’ She alluded to a new portal created by House Republicans to allow state workers to report potential fraud and abuse of state dollars.” [MPR News, 3/28/25]
DOGE Used Claims Of Widespread “Fraudulent And Wasteful Spending” To Justify Its Efforts To “Dismantle Federal Agencies,” While “Fraud And Waste” Was Estimated To Only Make Up Between Three And Seven Percent Of Federal Spending. According to NPR, “President Trump and Elon Musk have vowed to uncover and eliminate fraud in the federal government, and the White House has pointed to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report as evidence and justification for their ongoing efforts to take over and dismantle federal agencies. […] In a memo Wednesday, the administration said that ‘Trump is determined to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and put an end to fraudulent and wasteful spending’ and attached the GAO's report. A co-author of that report, GAO Director Rebecca Shea, tells NPR that while government fraud and waste makes up an estimated 3% and 7% of federal spending, the overwhelming majority of federal spending isn't fraudulent.” [NPR, 2/16/25]
February 2025: DOGE Ordered The Firing Of All Probationary Employees Out Of Minnesota’s 20,000 Federal Employees. According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, “The cuts are part of President Donald Trump’s widescale effort to downsize the federal workforce, specifically an edict from the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to fire all probationary employees. That includes new employees and also experienced federal workers who took new positions, including promotions, within the past year. There are about 20,000 federal civilian employees in Minnesota. It’s not known how many of those are probationary, but roughly two dozen spoke to the Minnesota Star Tribune about losing their jobs and all knew of others in their departments who had been dismissed.” [Minnesota Star Tribune, 2/20/25]
March 2025: DOGE Canceled The Leases Of 11 Federal Offices In Minnesota, And Left Employees Of Those Offices Unsure If It Meant They Would Lose Their Jobs. According to CBS News, “The U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) website shows seven properties in Minnesota that are considered ‘not core to government operations’ and are ‘designated for disposal.’ Additionally, the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) says it has canceled leases at 11 properties in the North Star state, including the St. Paul headquarters of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and a South St. Paul USDA office that ensures farm animals being raised for food are safe. […] The White House's Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, says it'll save about $1.5 million a year canceling the 11 leases. Employees at some of the offices told WCCO they're completely in the dark about the plans to close and don't know if it means they'll lose their jobs.” [CBS News, 3/7/25]
April 2025: DOGE Cut Funding For AmeriCorps, Which Affected 14,000 Volunteers And Members In Minnesota That Served 2,100 Nonprofit And Faith-Based Organizations. According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, “An independent federal agency that champions community-based service and volunteerism, AmeriCorps placed at least 85% of its workforce on administrative leave last month with the warning that their jobs would be eliminated by June 24. And the latest blow landed on Friday when about $400 million in grant funding nationwide was terminated effective immediately. The DOGE mandate affects some 14,000 volunteers and members in Minnesota serving 2,100 locations, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans’ facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations, according to its annual report.” [Minnesota Star Tribune, 4/30/25]
April 2025: DOGE Cut A $3.8 Million Grant Intended To Pay For Needed Repairs To A Minnesota Affordable Housing Development. According to the Minnesota Reformer, “In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development gave the building’s nonprofit owner a $3.8 million grant to pay for needed repairs and upgrades, including a new heating system and windows. But the money never came through because the Trump administration has ‘permanently frozen’ the funds, CommonBond Communities president and CEO Deidre Schmidt said Monday. The grant money came from HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which provided grants and loans to finance energy efficiency upgrades at affordable housing developments nationwide. Vista Village was the only Minnesota-based project to receive an award through the competitive program. Congress authorized $1 billion for the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. In March, the Associated Press reported that the program was being ‘terminated’ at the direction of DOGE.” [Minnesota Reformer, 4/14/25]
April 2025: DOGE Cut A $300,000 National Endowment For The Humanities Grant For The Minnesota-Based Norwegian American Historical Association. According to MinnPost, “A year ago, the Northfield-based Norwegian American Historical Association hailed the approval of a nearly $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a federal agency that promotes history, culture and the arts. That grant would allow the society to digitize and preserve five collections that document the efforts of Norwegian Americans to help occupied Norway – and its resistance fighters – during World War II. One collection is a compilation of papers from the American Relief for Norway (ARFN), a group founded by Minnesotans to relieve distress among the people of Norway. […] Another collection is about the Camp Little Norway Association, an organization of Minnesotans of Norwegian descent who supported a training base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force in Toronto. But last Wednesday, Norwegian American Historical Association Executive Director Amy Boxrud received an email that said the multiyear grant had been canceled, leaving the efforts to preserve those historical documents and many others in doubt.” [MinnPost, 4/8/25]
April 2025: DOGE Cut $1.2 Million In Funding For The Minnesota Humanities Center From The National Endowment For The Humanities. According to MinnPost, “NEH has also provided grants to every state humanities council for decades. Those have all been canceled, including those for the Minnesota Humanities Center, which will lose $1.2 million in annual funding. Kevin Lindsey, the CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center, said he found out his NEH grant was canceled like Boxrud did — through an email from DOGE. The money the center receives was used to give grants to other nonprofits working on projects involving culture, history and the arts, and to fund its own projects, such as a proposed film about slavery in the years just before the Civil War.” [MinnPost, 4/8/25]
April 2025: DOGE Cut A $300,000 National Endowment For The Humanities Grant For The Minnesota Historical Society. According to MinnPost, “Since 2007, the Minnesota Historical Society has received eight grants from the NEH for its ambitious project to digitize more than 120 newspapers. But, like other NEH grant recipients, the society received notice last week that its eighth grant, in the amount of $300,000, had been canceled. ‘The loss of these funds will result in fewer newspaper pages being digitized and available for research,’ said Minnesota History Society Director Kent Whitworth.” [MinnPost, 4/8/25]