On Wednesday, July 9, the Star Tribune reported that Gov. Tim Walz billed Minnesota taxpayers $430,000 for legal fees related to his congressional testimony last month. The funds were used to pay “outside lawyers who helped Gov. Tim Walz prepare for a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing where he sparred with Republicans over immigration.”

Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) released the following statement decrying this excessive expense by the Walz Administration:

“Governor Walz’s decision to spend nearly half a million taxpayer dollars to prepare for a discussion with other elected officials is nothing short of outrageous. This $430,000 expense is excessive, wasteful, and unjustifiable. 

“If Governor Walz’s policies were truly sound, there would be no need to hire an army of lawyers to defend them. This level of legal spending is both unnecessary and deeply concerning, just to try to put political spin on his sanctuary state policies when he’s being questioned about them.

“Videos of Governor Walz’s testimony show he struggled to answer questions about his failed policies, including those that turned Minnesota into a sanctuary state. When questioned by Congressman Emmer and others, Walz appeared unprepared and evasive.

“Minnesota taxpayers deserve to know why so much money is being spent on legal defenses instead of solving the real problems facing the state.”