Minnesota Republicans are furious after learning that Governor Tim Walz used about $430,000 in state funds to hire outside lawyers ahead of a congressional hearing on sanctuary-city policies.
Invoices obtained by the Star Tribune show the governor’s office retained the global firm K&L Gates from early April to mid-June to coach Walz for his June testimony before the House Oversight Committee, which is run by Republicans. The documents indicate:
- Roughly $232,000 of the total was billed in May alone, with attorneys charging an average of $516 an hour.
- The entire sum—$430,000—was covered by a transfer from Minnesota’s general fund after the Legislative Advisory Commission signed off.
- Although the state attorney general’s office initially offered advice, Walz staff said they needed specialized expertise in navigating congressional hearings.
GOP lawmakers called the spending outrageous. Rep. Jim Nash argued the attorney general’s team could have handled the preparation, while Rep. Harry Niska likened the outside help to pricey “PR consulting,” suggesting the governor’s national ambitions—rather than state business—were the driving force.
Walz’s aides shot back, calling the GOP-led hearing a partisan “political stunt” that forced the state to spend money on legal prep it otherwise wouldn’t have needed. Walz himself later dismissed the proceedings as grandstanding that revealed nothing new.
Minnesota isn’t alone: earlier this year Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reportedly authorized up to $650,000 for similar help, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston spent around $250,000. Now, Minnesota legislators plan to examine whether future governors should rely on in-house counsel instead of expensive outside firms—and how far taxpayer dollars should go in covering what critics label political theater.
