Nick Shirley has testified to Congress twice: to a House Judiciary subcommittee on January 21, 2026, and to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 15, 2026. Both times he retold his Minnesota day care investigation and asked lawmakers to crack down on fraud against taxpayers.
- House hearing
- January 21, 2026, “When Public Funds Are Abused: Addressing Fraud and the Theft of Taxpayer Dollars”
- House panel
- Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, chaired by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
- Senate hearing
- July 15, 2026, “Exposing Fraud in America”
- Senate panel
- Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
- Other Washington stops
- White House antifa roundtable, October 8, 2025; State of the Union guest, February 24, 2026
Nick Shirley’s House testimony, January 21, 2026
Nick Shirley’s House testimony came on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. The committee’s hearing notice said it would examine how fraud schemes exploited federally funded programs in Minnesota. Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona chairs the subcommittee, and Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia is its ranking Democrat. Shirley sat beside Jennifer Larson of the Holland Autism Center and Clinic; Scott Dexter, a former Wyoming, Minnesota, police officer and former state fraud investigator; and Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).
Play “I Testified in Front of Congress About Fraud…” (loads YouTube)
I Testified in Front of Congress About Fraud… · Nick Shirley · January 21, 2026
What Nick Shirley told the House
Nick Shirley told the House that Minnesotans tipped him off about fraud in June 2025 and that he filmed on December 16 with a man named David who “had the information.” His written testimony describes the first day care they visited: an industrial building with blacked-out windows, no playground and “no children footprints in the snow,” which had received more than $1 million in state child care aid in 2025. He cited the Quality Learing Center’s $1.9 million and wrote that HHS “froze $185 million in childcare,” the figure HHS gives for Minnesota’s annual federal child care funds. “Fraud is fraud,” the statement says, “and we the people work way too hard for our hard-earned tax dollars to go towards fraudsters.” At the hearing he warned that “fraud in California might be worse than the fraud in Minnesota,” a lead he later followed to Los Angeles hospices.
Pushback during Nick Shirley’s House testimony
The pushback during Nick Shirley’s House testimony came from Democrats, who argued that career investigators, not influencers, exposed Minnesota’s fraud. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the full committee’s ranking Democrat, said the fraud “was discovered not by a right-wing social media influencer” but by “real local investigative journalists, brave whistleblowers and state and federal auditors.” Questioned by McBath, Hedtler-Gaudette said CBS News reporters and Minnesota’s inspector general “had a difficult time substantiating what Mr. Shirley was claiming to be true in his video,” citing security footage of children being dropped off the day he visited one center.
Nick Shirley’s Senate testimony, July 15, 2026
Nick Shirley’s Senate testimony came on July 15, 2026, at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing titled “Exposing Fraud in America,” chaired by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. The other witnesses were James O’Keefe, chief executive of O’Keefe Media Group, and Hedtler-Gaudette of POGO again. Paul introduced Shirley as “an independent journalist known for his on-the-ground investigations which he publishes on his social media page and the Anti-Fraud Club website,” then summed up the panel: “Mr. Shirley followed the money. Mr. O’Keefe followed the signatures.”
What Nick Shirley told the Senate
Nick Shirley told the Senate that fraud “has nothing to do with political parties,” adding, “No dollar says Republican or Democrat on it.” He said his Minnesota video had led to more than 30 fraud bills in Congress and a new federal fraud task force, and that “the highest government-funded daycare in Minnesota has pleaded guilty to daycare fraud.” Six days earlier, the owner of Future Leaders Early Learning, a center in his video, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy. Asked by Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma how he picks targets, Shirley said he searches public databases for “the largest amount of funding” and for anomalies. “I do not need safe. I need raw information,” Lankford replied. “That is what Mr. Shirley is actually bringing.”
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin praised his “phenomenal journalism” and asked about California’s AB 2624, the law critics call the Stop Nick Shirley Act. Shirley closed by asking senators to “simply put Americans first.” His own video of the Senate hearing went up the next day.
Democrats at Nick Shirley’s Senate hearing
Most Democrats on the committee skipped the hearing where Nick Shirley testified, a point his video title, “I Testified in Front of the Senate… Democrats Vanished,” turned into the headline. Ranking member Gary Peters of Michigan gave an opening statement faulting President Trump for firing 19 inspectors general “in violation of the law.” By the time Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was called on, the transcript shows, no Democrat was in the room. “If there were a Democrat here, yes,” Paul said when Scott asked whether one should go next.
Nick Shirley at the State of the Union, February 24, 2026
Nick Shirley attended President Trump’s State of the Union address on February 24, 2026, as a guest of Rep. Pete Stauber, a Minnesota Republican, along with David Hoch, the researcher from his Minnesota video. Stauber said the two “did the state of Minnesota a tremendous service.” FOX 9, reporting the invitation, noted that some of the video’s claims had been proven false while others were already under investigation. The next day, Shirley shared a post by YouTuber Tyler Oliveira promoting a video about “New Jersey’s Jewish Invasion” with the words “EXPOSE IT ALL,” which The New Republic criticized.
Nick Shirley at the White House antifa roundtable, October 8, 2025
Nick Shirley’s first big Washington stage was President Trump’s roundtable on antifa in the White House State Dining Room on October 8, 2025. Cabinet members and conservative creators including Andy Ngo and Jack Posobiec took part. “I’m a 100 percent independent YouTube journalist,” Shirley said, according to the official transcript, and he told the president that the most dangerous places he had been were in the United States. “It’s a very important thing you’re doing,” Trump told him. A year later he was back, in the Oval Office, for the first $10,000 award of a new fraud whistleblower program on October 20, 2026.
Nick Shirley testimony FAQ
When did Nick Shirley testify before Congress?
Nick Shirley testified before Congress on January 21, 2026, to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, and on July 15, 2026, to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
What was Nick Shirley’s testimony about?
Nick Shirley’s testimony was about the Minnesota day care and health care fraud he filmed in December 2025; in the Senate he also raised California hospices and New York adult day cares.
Did James O’Keefe testify with Nick Shirley?
James O’Keefe testified alongside Nick Shirley at the July 15, 2026 Senate hearing, describing undercover video of paid voter registration work in Los Angeles.
Did Nick Shirley get a Congressional Gold Medal?
Nick Shirley has not received a Congressional Gold Medal; two bills from Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona to award him one, filed in January 2026, were still in committee as of October 29, 2026.
Sources
- House Judiciary Committee: When Public Funds Are Abused: Addressing Fraud and the Theft of Taxpayer Dollars, January 14, 2026
- House Judiciary Committee: Written testimony of Nick Shirley, January 21, 2026
- U.S. House Committee Repository: Hearing documents, When Public Funds Are Abused, January 21, 2026
- House Judiciary Committee Democrats: At Subcommittee Hearing, Republicans’ Selective Outrage About Fraud Does Not Apply to the Trump Administration, January 21, 2026
- U.S. Government Publishing Office: Exposing Fraud in America, Senate Hearing 119-503 (transcript), July 15, 2026
- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee: Exposing Fraud in America, July 8, 2026
- Nick Shirley (YouTube): I Testified in Front of Congress About Fraud…, January 21, 2026
- Nick Shirley (YouTube): I Testified in Front of the Senate… Democrats Vanished, July 16, 2026
- Office of Rep. Pete Stauber: Stauber to Bring Nick Shirley and David Hoch as Guests to State of the Union, February 23, 2026
- U.S. Government Publishing Office: Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion on the “Antifa” Organization and an Exchange With Reporters (DCPD-202500989), October 8, 2025
- The White House: President Trump Participates in a Roundtable on ANTIFA, October 8, 2025
- Congress.gov: H.R. 6942, Nick Shirley Congressional Gold Medal Act, January 6, 2026
- Congress.gov: H.R. 6959, Nick Shirley Congressional Gold Medal Act, January 7, 2026
- New York Post: YouTuber Nick Shirley exposes Minnesota child care fraud ‘red flags’ in congressional hearing, January 21, 2026
- The National News Desk (via NBC 16): Witness in Minnesota fraud hearing says he would trust professional reporters over Shirley, January 21, 2026
- The National News Desk (via KATV): Social media influencers who captured alleged fraud called to testify on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2026
- The Associated Press (via NPR): Trump administration says it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota, December 30, 2025
- CBS Minnesota: Minnesota daycare owner pleads guilty to 2 fraud charges, July 9, 2026
- FOX 9: Nick Shirley will be Minnesota Congressman’s guest at Trump’s State of the Union, February 23, 2026
- The New Republic: Republicans’ Favorite YouTuber Backs Probe Into “Jewish Invasion”, February 26, 2026
- CNN: Trump takes aim at Antifa, and the press, in White House roundtable, October 8, 2025
- The Guardian: Who are the rightwing influencers filling Trump’s head with visions of antifa?, October 16, 2025
- Deseret News: Trump awards Utahn Nick Shirley $10,000 check under new anti-fraud reward program, October 20, 2026
Last updated October 29, 2026