The Tiffany Telegram: January 9, 2026

Dear Friend,

I hope you had a very merry Christmas and that your 2026 is off to a strong start. From all of us at the Tiffany Telegram, we wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Before the holidays, we began highlighting the growing fraud scandal in Minnesota. Unfortunately, the situation has only worsened, both in our neighboring state and closer to home here in Wisconsin.

What began as a $250 million fraud scheme in a COVID food program meant to help hungry kids has metastasized into a full-blown government failure in Minnesota. According to CBS News, the tab for fraud could now be as high as $9 billion.

From the Housing Stability Services Program to autism-related fraud, new investigations have now also revealed fraud within daycare programswhere facilities received millions in taxpayer dollars despite having few or no children enrolled. In fact, one of the daycares, the Quality "Learing" Center - operating under a misspelled sign - has already closed following its exposure.

Apparently, Governor Tim Walz never "leared" his lesson the first time around.

Instead of cracking down, he let fraudsters come back for seconds and even shut down investigative probes. When asked about it this week, he went after the prosecutor doing his job rather than the fraudsters stealing taxpayer dollars. You can watch that clip here.

Even more troubling, reports show that fraud proceeds were sent overseas, with U.S. taxpayer dollars ultimately flowing to Islamic terrorist organizations like al-Shabaab. TSA agents also reported individuals leaving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with suitcases filled with cash, totaling millions of dollars year after year.

As fraud investigations continue to mount, Tim Walz has announced he will not be running for governor again, but walking away from office does not erase responsibility for what happened on his watch. This week, the Trump administration announced a new Department of Justice position dedicated to rooting out fraud and restoring accountability, starting in Minnesota and then moving nationwide.

This is where Wisconsin comes in.

The Trump administration is conducting audits of welfare programs like food stamps and Medicaid, which are funded by billions of federal tax dollars. But Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul are suing to stop those audits here in Wisconsin.

As if that weren't enough, the Department of Justice also announced over the holidays that it is suing Wisconsin after Democrats refused to allow our voter rolls to be checked for fraud.

If everything is above board, why block transparency? You deserve accountability for your tax dollars, and I will keep fighting to ensure it.

Governor Evers could easily put concerns to rest by opening the books and proving Minnesota-style fraud is not occurring in Wisconsin. His refusal to allow even that level of transparency raises troubling questions about whether his administration is trying to hide the same kinds of failures we are seeing under Tim Walz.

Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us! We hope you enjoy this week's edition of the Tiffany Telegram.

Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

When Governor Tony Evers was asked why Wisconsin will not allow food stamp rolls to be audited for fraud, he claimed everything was "just fine." If that were true, there would be no reason to block a USDA audit.

UN-winding globalism

This week, President Trump did something many of us have wanted to see for years: A complete and total withdrawal of U.S. participation in dozens of anti-American, sovereignty-threatening international organizations and agreements. In all, the president's order extricates America from 66 multilateral messes - ranging from "migration" to "climate change" schemes - with more than 30 of them affiliated with the scandal-plagued United Nations. You can see the entire list and read President Trump's order here. As Telegram readers know, these shady agencies have worked around the clock to undermine our security while ironically forcing us to pick up the tab (American taxpayers have traditionally been on the hook for roughly a quarter of the UN's bloated budget, which is a larger share than any other country on earth). It's why I've been working for years to defend American independence by defunding the UN, which, in addition to bankrolling the tidal wave of migrants that flooded into our country during the Biden years, has even been caught red-handed financing terrorism. President Trump's decision is critically important and is finally bringing a long overdue end to the days of Americans bowing down to unaccountable foreign bureaucrats.

Making America healthy again

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2025-2030. Over the years, Americans have seen rising rates of obesity, prediabetes, and diet-related chronic diseases, which have increased health care costs while limiting opportunities for millions of Americans. Data shows that close to 90% of health care spending goes toward treating these chronic diseases, many of them linked to lifestyle and dietary intake. The updated guidelines emphasize nutrient-dense foods while cutting back on ultra or highly processed products. Wisconsinites should be happy to know that the guidelines also recommend full-fat dairy, and increased consumption of protein and whole fruits and vegetables. That's a welcome change. Telegram readers may recall the bipartisan fight in Congress to put whole milk back in our schools. It's a fight I helped lead, and it's great to see that work pay off in the new, reversed food pyramid. The goal here is to focus on better food choices now so fewer Americans have to deal with preventable illness later. You can read the full Dietary Guidelines for Americans here.

2025 recap

2025 was a big year for America and for Wisconsin's Seventh District. It proved what's possible when leadership puts working Americans first. Under President Donald Trump, the economy is growing at 4.3%, core inflation has fallen to its lowest level in nearly five years, murders are down 20% (the largest single-year decline ever recorded), and the border is secure. Prices on everyday necessities like dairy, prescriptions, gas, and travel are finally coming down, and private-sector workers are on track to take home $1,300 more in real wages this year. In Congress, I introduced the CARE Act to give local communities the ability to stop federal refugee resettlements and the CAP Act to close the unlimited H-1B loophole universities use to hire foreign workers over Americans. The House passed legislation I co-authored to protect pets and livestock by delisting the gray wolf, and President Trump signed into law no taxes on tips, overtime, or Social Security. My office also returned more than $20 million to families and communities across the district through casework and grants. I look forward to delivering even more for you in 2026.

A year of results for Wisconsin's Seventh District.

Committee Update

Judiciary

Keeping the bad guys behind bars

For decades, Democrats have attempted to implement policies to eliminate cash bail and ultimately release violent criminals back into our community. Many of them, even former Vice President Kamala Harris, have thrown their support behind charitable bail funds which regularly post bail for individuals charged with violent felonies and prior convictions. Groups like this garner millions of dollars from across the country to post bail for criminal defendants. Take, for example, the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) which took in over $41 million in the aftermath of the 2020 Minnesota riots and used that money to bail out convicted sex offenders, domestic abusers, and murderers. Since it's not their money, these criminal defendants often go back into the streets, fail to show up for their court date, and continue to commit more heinous crimes. To rein in these harmful organizations, my colleagues and I passed out of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Scott Fitzgerald's Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act. This bill will strengthen the federal criminal statute and ensure that those who operate these bail funds are adherent to strict standards regarding fraud and discrimination. We must ensure that our communities remain safe, and these charitable bail funds are just a small part of the wider movement to significantly weaken or outright eliminate the cash bail system that is vital to our safety.

District Update

Fighting for rural communities

On Monday, I visited the School District of Crandon to celebrate the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. Last year, Crandon students traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for this program, and their voices made a difference. The visit followed the passage of S. 356, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act, which passed the U.S. House in December with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 18th. The Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act delivers critical funding to rural communities with large amounts of federal land, helping keep schools open, roads maintained, and emergency services operating. In many rural areas, large portions of land are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and are tax-exempt. Wisconsin has more than 1.5 million acres of federal forest land, much of it in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and 11 counties rely on this program. Without SRS reauthorization, counties would lose this funding and be left scrambling. I want to thank the leadership of the School District of Crandon for their engagement and commitment to getting this important legislation signed into law. You can read more about this important legislation here.

I met with District Administrator Jason Bertrand, Middle/High School Principal Josh Jaeger, and students to discuss how SRS funding will continue supporting local schools and strengthening rural communities.

Photo of the week

On National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, I want to thank the brave men and women who work every day to keep our communities safe. It is a difficult and often dangerous job, but they show up every day to protect us. I am forever grateful for their service and sacrifice. If you have a photo of Wisconsin you'd like to share, send it to [email protected] with your name and location. Your photo could be featured in next week's Telegram!

"Back the Blue" - Team Tiffany thanks all law enforcement for their service.

Resources

Vacation is meant to be relaxing, so don't let renewing or applying for your passport stress you out. The current processing time is 4 to 6 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.

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As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance.

Good News from Wisconsin's 7th District and Congress

App Competition Winner

Congratulations to Riya and Ridhi Shankarof the Marshfield School District on winning the 2025 Congressional App Competition!

National Champs

The University of Wisconsin-River Fallswon its first NCAA Division III football championship this week. From a proud alum, way to go Falcons!

Hodag Proud

Around 70 peoplecame together in Rhinelander to search for a dog lost in the woods. Thanks to their efforts, Violet has been safely reunited with her owners.

Famous Pizza

Chetek's favorite Caddy Shack Bar and Grillwill continue serving up its famous thin-crust pizza. Best wishes to Hailee Parks and Dayln Fowler as they take on this new venture!

Extraordinary Military Operation

Nicolas Maduro, the brutal dictator and head of a designated narco-terrorist cartel linked to the deaths of countless Americans, has been captured and will face justice in the United States.

Making Housing More Affordable

Today, the U.S. House passed the HOMES Actto eliminate duplicative housing regulations to lower costs and restore the American Dream.