Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slams Governor Walz on CDL
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying he illegally awarded 33% of CDL licenses to people who shouldn’t be driving big rigs on U.S. roads.
Fox – Fox 9
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz once again hit back at President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the Midwestern state’s Somali immigrant community.
At a Dec. 4 news conference announcing Minnesota’s new budget outlook, Walz criticized the president’s series of social media posts and public comments, calling them “despicable” and “racist lies.”
“This creates a danger,” Walz said at a news conference. “We know how these things happen. They start with ridicule and escalate into violence.”
In recent weeks, President Trump has focused on a wide range of Somalis in the state, making several insults against Somalis, the Somali-American immigrant community and Minnesota Democratic lawmakers.
Starting on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, President Trump posted about a massive fraud and money laundering investigation in the state. The investigation alleges a group perpetuated what the state district attorney’s office called “the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme.” Many, but not all, of those charged in the scheme are of Somali descent.
Trump falsely stated that “hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are taking over the once-great state of Minnesota” and used the “r-word” to disparage Walz. A few days later, at a Cabinet meeting on December 2, the president called Somali immigrants “trash.” These posts and comments drew widespread condemnation from critics, including slurs of the “r-word.” Many Minnesota officials criticized his attacks on the Somali community as racist and un-American.
At a Dec. 4 news conference, Walz criticized what he called Trump’s conflation of groups accused of fraud schemes with entire communities.
“If you commit a crime, you go to prison. It doesn’t matter your race, ethnicity or religion,” Walz said. “But to demonize an entire group of people based on their race or ethnicity? The very group of people that contribute to the vitality of this state, its economic and cultural value, is what I hope we never have to look at.”
Minnesota is home to the nation’s largest Somali immigrant community, estimated at 60,000 to 80,000 people.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
