‘You Ought to Be in Jail’: GOP Senator Accuses Minnesota Attorney General of Enabling Fraud
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Josh Hawley accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of having knowledge of massive welfare fraud in his state yet enabling the fraud to continue.
“I should call you prisoner because you ought to be in jail,” Hawley, R-Mo., told Ellison in a heated exchange during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday.
Hawley specifically pressed Ellison on an alleged conversation the attorney general had with leaders of the Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which orchestrated a massive fraud scheme.
The organization claimed to be working with caterers and restaurants to provide meals to schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the group was found to have submitted fake invoices and meal count sheets while receiving more than $250 million in federal child nutrition assistance.
In November 2025, the Department of Justice announced one of the individuals involved in the fraud scheme had been sentenced to 10 years in prison “for his role in the $300 million Feeding Our Future case, the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the United States.”
Hawley claimed the leaders of Feeding Our Future met with Ellison at the end of 2021 and asked the attorney general for “help in getting investigators off their backs.”
“They complained to you for upwards of an hour about state investigators going after them, and they begged you to help them, and you agreed to it, amazingly, and we know you did because it’s all caught on tape,” Hawley said.
Hawley proceeded to read a portion of what he claimed was a transcript of the meeting between Ellison and the representatives of Feeding Our Future.
“You said to them, ‘Send me the names of all these folks who are investigating [Feeding Our Future] … and I’ll take that list, and I’ll call the person over at Education who’s investigating them,’” Hawley read.
Ellison accused Hawley of “cherry-picking quotes” from the conversation.
Hawley repeatedly asked Ellison why he helped Feeding Our Future.
“I didn’t help them,” Ellison responded, adding, “my team assisted with the information that led to the prosecution and conviction of these people.”
“No, you didn’t, you didn’t lift a finger to prosecute them,” Hawley retorted.
“Yes, we did,” Ellison responded, noting it was a federal prosecution, which Hawley called “BS.”
Hawley also accused Ellison of taking $10,000 from Feeding Our Future, referring to reports that Ellison received $10,000 in contributions from members of the organization.
“That’s a lie,” Ellison shot back.
The exchange continued before Hawley told Ellison he should resign.
NEW: Full, very heated exchange between Sen. @HawleyMO (R-MO) & Minnesota AG Keith Ellison about the Minnesota fraud scandal that ended with Hawley telling Ellison he should be in prison & Ellison responding by essentially saying good luck with that.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 12, 2026
The Daily Signal contacted Ellison’s office for a response to Hawley’s accusations. Brian Evans, Ellison’s press secretary, told The Daily Signal that Ellison already addressed the meeting Hawley referred to in an op-ed for the Star Tribune published in April 2025.
In the op-ed, …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Josh Hawley accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of having knowledge of massive welfare fraud in his state yet enabling the fraud to continue.
“I should call you prisoner because you ought to be in jail,” Hawley, R-Mo., told Ellison in a heated exchange during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday.
Hawley specifically pressed Ellison on an alleged conversation the attorney general had with leaders of the Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which orchestrated a massive fraud scheme.
The organization claimed to be working with caterers and restaurants to provide meals to schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the group was found to have submitted fake invoices and meal count sheets while receiving more than $250 million in federal child nutrition assistance.
In November 2025, the Department of Justice announced one of the individuals involved in the fraud scheme had been sentenced to 10 years in prison “for his role in the $300 million Feeding Our Future case, the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the United States.”
Hawley claimed the leaders of Feeding Our Future met with Ellison at the end of 2021 and asked the attorney general for “help in getting investigators off their backs.”
“They complained to you for upwards of an hour about state investigators going after them, and they begged you to help them, and you agreed to it, amazingly, and we know you did because it’s all caught on tape,” Hawley said.
Hawley proceeded to read a portion of what he claimed was a transcript of the meeting between Ellison and the representatives of Feeding Our Future.
“You said to them, ‘Send me the names of all these folks who are investigating [Feeding Our Future] … and I’ll take that list, and I’ll call the person over at Education who’s investigating them,’” Hawley read.
Ellison accused Hawley of “cherry-picking quotes” from the conversation.
Hawley repeatedly asked Ellison why he helped Feeding Our Future.
“I didn’t help them,” Ellison responded, adding, “my team assisted with the information that led to the prosecution and conviction of these people.”
“No, you didn’t, you didn’t lift a finger to prosecute them,” Hawley retorted.
“Yes, we did,” Ellison responded, noting it was a federal prosecution, which Hawley called “BS.”
Hawley also accused Ellison of taking $10,000 from Feeding Our Future, referring to reports that Ellison received $10,000 in contributions from members of the organization.
“That’s a lie,” Ellison shot back.
The exchange continued before Hawley told Ellison he should resign.
NEW: Full, very heated exchange between Sen. @HawleyMO (R-MO) & Minnesota AG Keith Ellison about the Minnesota fraud scandal that ended with Hawley telling Ellison he should be in prison & Ellison responding by essentially saying good luck with that.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 12, 2026
The Daily Signal contacted Ellison’s office for a response to Hawley’s accusations. Brian Evans, Ellison’s press secretary, told The Daily Signal that Ellison already addressed the meeting Hawley referred to in an op-ed for the Star Tribune published in April 2025.
In the op-ed, …
‘You Ought to Be in Jail’: GOP Senator Accuses Minnesota Attorney General of Enabling Fraud
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Josh Hawley accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of having knowledge of massive welfare fraud in his state yet enabling the fraud to continue.
“I should call you prisoner because you ought to be in jail,” Hawley, R-Mo., told Ellison in a heated exchange during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday.
Hawley specifically pressed Ellison on an alleged conversation the attorney general had with leaders of the Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which orchestrated a massive fraud scheme.
The organization claimed to be working with caterers and restaurants to provide meals to schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the group was found to have submitted fake invoices and meal count sheets while receiving more than $250 million in federal child nutrition assistance.
In November 2025, the Department of Justice announced one of the individuals involved in the fraud scheme had been sentenced to 10 years in prison “for his role in the $300 million Feeding Our Future case, the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the United States.”
Hawley claimed the leaders of Feeding Our Future met with Ellison at the end of 2021 and asked the attorney general for “help in getting investigators off their backs.”
“They complained to you for upwards of an hour about state investigators going after them, and they begged you to help them, and you agreed to it, amazingly, and we know you did because it’s all caught on tape,” Hawley said.
Hawley proceeded to read a portion of what he claimed was a transcript of the meeting between Ellison and the representatives of Feeding Our Future.
“You said to them, ‘Send me the names of all these folks who are investigating [Feeding Our Future] … and I’ll take that list, and I’ll call the person over at Education who’s investigating them,’” Hawley read.
Ellison accused Hawley of “cherry-picking quotes” from the conversation.
Hawley repeatedly asked Ellison why he helped Feeding Our Future.
“I didn’t help them,” Ellison responded, adding, “my team assisted with the information that led to the prosecution and conviction of these people.”
“No, you didn’t, you didn’t lift a finger to prosecute them,” Hawley retorted.
“Yes, we did,” Ellison responded, noting it was a federal prosecution, which Hawley called “BS.”
Hawley also accused Ellison of taking $10,000 from Feeding Our Future, referring to reports that Ellison received $10,000 in contributions from members of the organization.
“That’s a lie,” Ellison shot back.
The exchange continued before Hawley told Ellison he should resign.
NEW: Full, very heated exchange between Sen. @HawleyMO (R-MO) & Minnesota AG Keith Ellison about the Minnesota fraud scandal that ended with Hawley telling Ellison he should be in prison & Ellison responding by essentially saying good luck with that.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 12, 2026
The Daily Signal contacted Ellison’s office for a response to Hawley’s accusations. Brian Evans, Ellison’s press secretary, told The Daily Signal that Ellison already addressed the meeting Hawley referred to in an op-ed for the Star Tribune published in April 2025.
In the op-ed, …
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