In a viral and very entertaining moment from a January 7, 2026, House Oversight Committee hearing probing multibillion-dollar fraud in Minnesota’s social programs, which has been linked to Somali immigrants, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) aggressively questioned Democratic witness Brendan Ballou, a former DOJ prosecutor and Minnesotan, getting the Democrat to defend Somali migrant fraud in Minnesota.
Throughout the clip, Gill pressed Ballou on whether large-scale Somali immigration strengthens Minnesota, pointing to high welfare use and poor English proficiency. Absurdly, Ballou claimed Somalis make the state “certainly stronger,” objected to “native Minnesotan” terminology.
Starting off the interrogation, Rep. Gill began, “Let me ask you, does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?” Ballou sheepishly answered, “Certainly stronger, certainly stronger.” Pouncing, Gill questioned, “Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps?”
After the Democrat indicated he did not, Gill continued, “54% Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?” After another denial, he asserted, “It’s 7% there’s a big difference between 54% and 7% is there not?”
Interupting a stammering defence, the Texas lawmaker carried on. “Let me move on. We’ve got a lot of questions here. What? What percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on Medicaid?” Answering his own question after Ballou could not, he declared, “It’s 73%.”
“Do you know what that number is for Minnesota native households?” Gill noted, prompting a woke meltdown. The former DOJ official raved, “Again, you’re using the phrase Minnesota native households…” Unimpressed, Gill countered, “Remember, if the number is 18% that’s quite an astounding difference. I think we would agree.”
Referring to this line of defence, after more questions from Gill, Ballou alleged, “If I can just answer the question, you’re using the phrase native Minnesotans. The majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesota as any of us. They were born in the United States. It’s only 8000 of the 108,000…”
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“Nevertheless, the welfare usage is astoundingly different. Let me ask you again, does that make Minnesota stronger or weaker?” Gill pointed out. Responding, Ballou alleged, “Again, I like the opportunity to answer the question here. So again, the majority of Somali Minnesotans are born in the United States, as I understand.”
Still not done battering the woke activist, the Texas Republican asked, “Okay, what percentage of working age Somalians who have been in the US for 10 years or more, 10 years or more. How many of them speak English very well?” Stammering out a response, the former DOJ official said, “I don’t know about half.”
Watch the clip here:
Bowling over the biased liberal, Rep. Gill concluded, “The answer is about half. That seems pretty low, doesn’t it?… Doesn’t sound like something that makes our country stronger to me, and I think most Americans would agree with me on that.”
Featured image from embedded video