ST PAUL, MINN – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces a change at the top of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Shireen Gandhi is no longer the Commissioner. She has been replaced by John Connolly, who asked her to remain at the department. Additionally, Connolly appointed General Counsel Andrew Johnson as the deputy commissioner.
“I want to thank Governor Walz for appointing me as temporary commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Human Services,” said Temporary Commissioner Connolly. “I accept this position as a committed public servant, with continuity of operations at the forefront, to ensure our Medicaid programs are of the highest quality and public funding is aggressively protected and effectively overseen. My priority is to continue transforming a human services system Minnesotans can trust, where program integrity and impact go hand in hand.”
Walz said the move is ‘to ensure stability and continue to strengthen oversight, improve program delivery, and protect essential services for Minnesotans.
“While President Trump and Dr. Oz play politics with Minnesotans’ health care, we are focused on stability and results,” he said. “We’ve made significant progress to strengthen programs and root out fraud. Today, we’re building on our success by putting an even stronger structure in place; adding leadership, improving oversight, and ensuring these programs are managed with the discipline and accountability Minnesotans expect. That’s how we protect care and deliver for families.”
House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) and Floor Leader Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) issued a statement after the announcement.
“Governor Walz proves once again that fraud is free to continue under his leadership,” said Demuth. “Recycling the same failed staff will not root out fraud – only wholescale change will. Fraud will continue until the Walz administration takes the problem seriously, and keeping Shireen Gandhi in a key leadership role proves they still don’t.”
Niska added, “For the second time in under a year, the day before a Walz employee is set to face tough questions over the DHS response to fraud, they’re removed from their position. This is a pathetic attempt to dodge real accountability on fraud, and Minnesotans can see right through it. Keeping the same staff who have overseen the fraud explosion will only allow the fraud to keep growing unchecked.”
Two local Senate Republicans — Sens. Paul Utke (R-Park Rapids) and Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) — also reacted Monday afternoon.
“It is astounding that we have yet another temporary commissioner overseeing the agency we need steady leadership in to fight the fraud our state has been subjected to – we could have avoided this entire circus had Governor Walz seriously considered who was best-equipped to lead DHS in the first place,” said Senator Utke, Republican lead on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “Someone who denies the existence of fraud was never fit to lead the agency experiencing the most fraud our state has ever seen. Keeping her on board as a Deputy Commissioner does a disservice to every single taxpayer that has lost money to the fraud she has totally failed to address.”
“Minnesotans were told Shireen Gandhi’s leadership would bring reform to DHS, yet now she is being shuffled to a different position so that Senate Democrats can avoid a confirmation hearing,” said Senator Rasmusson, Republican lead on the Human Services Committee. “While Minnesotans are tired of failure, Democrats continue to ignore the deep, systemic problems embedded in DHS culture and avoid providing any meaningful accountability to the Walz Administration.”
