On Monday, Governor Walz permanently appointed Shireen Gandhi as commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Since February 2025, Gandhi had been serving as “temporary” commissioner. Under Gandhi’s leadership, DHS created a website to deny that Minnesota has a fraud problem.

Senator Mark Koran (R–North Branch) released the following statement:

“If the head of DHS won’t even admit we have a massive fraud crisis, how is she supposed to fix it?” said Sen. Koran. “A couple weeks ago, she claimed that Minnesota’s fraud problem isn’t different from any other state in the country. Last month, the Legislative Auditor exposed that her agency fabricated documents to mislead auditors. Her record of leadership shows no impact on fraud. Under her, the fraud has actually gotten worse.”

The Senate now has 60 days to confirm Commissioner Gandhi. Notably, this process will no longer be in place starting in 2027, due to a change made by Democrat leadership. Starting in 2027, Commissioners will be automatically confirmed if the 60-day period passes without confirmation.