U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill of North Texas sharply questioned a Department of Justice witness this week during a congressional hearing examining alleged fraud tied to Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded programs.
The exchange took place Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, as lawmakers reviewed evidence of widespread abuse in Minnesota’s child care and welfare systems.
NEW: Rep. Brandon Gill shuts down witness Brendan Ballou with fact after fact after he claimed Somalis are “strengthening” Minnesota.
Gill: “Does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?”
Ballou: “Certainly stronger.”
Gill: “Do you know what percentage… pic.twitter.com/YdcbyMBh6R
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 7, 2026
Questioning former DOJ counsel Brendan Ballou, Gill asked bluntly, “Does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?”
Ballou responded, “Certainly stronger.”
Gill then pressed Ballou with a series of statistics regarding welfare usage.
“Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps?” Gill asked, before answering his own question.
Ballou did not.
“54 percent,” Gill replied. “Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households? It’s 7 percent. There’s a big difference between 54 percent and 7 percent, is there not?”
Gill followed with Medicaid usage rates.
“What percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on Medicaid?” Gill asked. “It’s 73 percent. Do you know what that number is for Minnesota native households? … The number is 18 percent. That’s quite an astounding difference.”
As Ballou attempted to challenge Gill’s terminology, Gill continued.
“What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general?” Gill asked. “It’s 81 percent.”
Gill then pointed to long-term dependency rates, asking, “After 10 years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali immigrant households continue to be on welfare? … The number is 78 percent.”
When Ballou objected to Gill’s use of the phrase “native Minnesotans,” arguing that many Somali residents were born in the United States, Gill acknowledged the distinction but returned to the data.
“Nevertheless,” Gill said, “the welfare usage is astoundingly different.”
“What percentage of working-age Somalians who have been in the U.S. for 10 years or more speak English very well?” Gill asked. “The answer is about half. That seems pretty low, doesn’t it?”
The hearing comes amid ongoing investigations into alleged fraud in Minnesota’s child care subsidy programs.
Those developments have prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to order state agencies earlier this week to proactively review similar programs in Texas.
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