In January 2026 Walz sent political shock waves through Minnesota by announcing he was ending his bid for a third term as the state’s governor. The move came after a viral video alleging fraud at Minnesota childcare facilities led the federal government to freeze childcare payments to the state. In announcing his decision, Walz outlined the ways in which his administration had fought fraud in the system but said that Republican political attacks were making that fight more difficult.
Just days after Walz dropped out of the race, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed as she pulled away from ICE agents in a Minneapolis neighborhood. Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for ICE to leave Minnesota and urged residents to protest peacefully. Less than two weeks after the shooting, the Trump Justice Department subpoenaed them and other state officials.
The subpoenas were part of an investigation alleging that Minnesota Democrats conspired to impede the work of thousands of federal agents looking for immigrants who are residing illegally in the country. In June 2026 a federal district judge threw out the subpoenas, saying they were coercive and retaliatory.