Minnesota Daycare Scandal: “Gross Incompetence” or “Complicity”?

By Jim Thomas | Wednesday, 31 December 2025 07:28 PM EST

Minnesota State Representative Walter Hudson said on Wednesday that a surge of attention to alleged daycare fraud has stripped away plausible deniability for regulators and elected officials. Hudson, a Republican, argued that the failures point to either gross incompetence or complicity.

Hudson appeared on a recent program as federal agents expanded an investigation into what Department of Homeland Security officials describe as widespread fraud tied to publicly funded child care centers in Minnesota. The inquiry accelerated after a viral video by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley alleged that nearly a dozen Minnesota daycare sites receiving public funds were not providing services.

Hudson described the situation as “extraordinarily frustrating, but it’s very encouraging,” crediting recent attention to independent investigators and “especially the federal administration under [President] Donald Trump.” He said the spotlight followed “many, many years” of concerns raised in Minnesota. Hudson noted that state officials had long encouraged the public to report fraud, yet meaningful action lagged until Shirley’s video went viral.

As of Monday, the video had surpassed one million views and spread widely across social media, drawing national attention. As a member of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, Hudson said whistleblowers inside state agencies have come forward only under assurances of anonymity. “They are afraid of retaliation,” he said, adding that those fears were reinforced by heated public responses to Shirley’s video from Democrats and what he called legacy media.

Hudson stated that the accumulation of evidence has narrowed the range of explanations. “Yeah, I mean, it’s at the point where it’s the benefit of doubt or the suspension of disbelief is diminishing in your capacity to offer it,” he said. “Right. Like it gets to a point where there’s only two possibilities. Either we’re dealing with people whose level of incompetence and ignorance should disqualify them for a job at Taco Bell, or they are, to some degree or another, complicit in what’s going on here in this state.”

The comments came as agents conducted what Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described as a “massive investigation” into child care fraud. Officials confirmed several leads originated not from formal complaints but from social media reporting. Hudson rejected liberal criticism that the investigation would harm children, saying such claims were misplaced. He compared the reaction to past liberal lack of response to unrest in Minnesota, arguing that current media voices expressing concern had downplayed violence during the 2020 Minneapolis riots.

“Vigilante justice is celebrated on the left,” Hudson said, referencing backlash to Shirley’s reporting and invoking the reaction to the killing of conservative leader Charlie Kirk as evidence of selective outrage. “So please spare me your hand-wringing over a guy with a camera asking questions.”