By Phillip C. Parrish, Retired U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer and Candidate for Minnesota Governor
October 11, 2025
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesotans from all walks of life made a solemn promise: “Never again.” Never again would we allow unchecked bureaucratic overreach, wasteful spending, and questionable practices to erode our freedoms, drain our resources, and undermine public trust. As a retired Navy intelligence officer with 21 years of service analyzing threats and uncovering falsified justifications for funding, I’ve seen firsthand how systemic abuses in government agencies create self-perpetuating crises. Today, the Trump administration’s bold moves to reform the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through targeted reductions in force (RIFs) offer a beacon of hope—not just nationally, but right here in Minnesota. These changes aren’t about dismantling public health; they’re about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, ensuring accountability, and redirecting resources to what truly matters: protecting our citizens without manufacturing fear or crises for relevance.
The recent layoffs at the CDC, affecting divisions like global health, chronic diseases, and injury prevention, stem from a long-overdue effort to trim a bloated bureaucracy. For decades, the CDC has exemplified what I witnessed in my intelligence career: agencies inflating threats to secure billions in funding, often through opaque mechanisms like LLCs and NGOs that bypass congressional oversight. Gain-of-function research—essentially chemical and biological weapons experimentation under the guise of science—continued unabated, even after exposures and moratoriums, funneling taxpayer dollars into risky ventures abroad. During COVID, this pattern escalated: exaggerated threats, flawed data, and partnerships with Big Pharma that prioritized emergency powers and profits over transparent, effective responses. Minnesotans remember the lockdowns, the economic devastation, and the one-size-fits-all mandates that ignored local realities. “Never again” means rejecting this Munchausen-by-proxy approach, where agencies amplify or even create crises to justify their existence.
The upside of these federal reforms is profound. By recalling furloughed HR staff to process RIF notices amid the government shutdown, the administration is signaling a zero-tolerance policy for inefficiency. This isn’t indiscriminate slashing—it’s strategic pruning of “Democrat-oriented” positions, as President Trump has described, that have politicized public health. The ouster of former CDC Director Susan Monarez under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has rightly called out the agency’s corruption, marks a turning point. We’re seeing a shift toward genuine preparedness, free from the waste that saw the CDC’s budget balloon to over $15 billion while outcomes lagged. Broader cuts across agencies like the FDA and National Park Service, aimed at pressuring Congress to resolve the shutdown, underscore a commitment to fiscal responsibility. For national security veterans like me, this echoes the intelligence community’s need to validate threats rigorously, exposing witting participants who fabricate rationales for funding wars, health initiatives, or anything in between.
Now, let’s tie this directly to Minnesota, where the same bureaucratic pathologies have festered at the state level. Our “never again” pledge isn’t abstract—it’s a direct response to scandals like the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud, where sham nonprofits exploited child nutrition programs during the pandemic, siphoning funds through lax oversight under Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison. This wasn’t isolated; it mirrored patterns in daycare fraud, where networks coached fraudsters to set up bogus centers, claiming millions in reimbursements with minimal verification. Medicaid scams, autism service abuses, and even broader welfare fraud have cost Minnesotans hundreds of millions, all while elite agendas prioritized predatory pipelines over accountability. As someone who exposed these issues through rigorous research—much like my Navy days dissecting implausible threats—I’ve seen how unwitting participants enable witting ones, creating a cycle of waste that burdens taxpayers and erodes trust.
The federal CDC reforms provide a blueprint for Minnesota. If elected governor, I’ll apply my intelligence expertise to establish an independent anti-fraud agency, free from political influence, with mandates for biometric ID verification, on-site inspections, and aggressive audits to claw back misused dollars. We’ll prioritize high-risk areas like nonprofits, Medicaid, and child services, ensuring benefits go to citizens first—as championed in Rep. Brad Finstad’s recent bill. By ending these abuses, we can redirect savings to real needs: bolstering local health preparedness without federal overreach, supporting our veterans, and fostering economic growth. Imagine a Minnesota where “never again” means no more falsified threats justifying endless spending—no more COVID-style mandates or fraud-fueled crises.
Fellow Minnesotans, the current news from Washington isn’t a setback; it’s an opportunity. It validates our promise and empowers us to demand better at home. As your governor, I’ll sift out the waste, fraud, and abuse that have plagued us, drawing on lessons from my career and the national reforms underway. Together, we can build a stronger, more accountable state. Vote for real change—vote Phillip C. Parrish for Governor.
Phillip C. Parrish is a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer, whistleblower on Minnesota fraud scandals, and Republican candidate for Governor. Learn more at parrish4mn.com
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