HHS freezes Minnesota child care funds after fraud allegations
The federal Department of Health and Human Services has frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota, citing “blatant fraud” at the state’s child care centers.
WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration is freezing more than $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funds to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, citing concerns about fraud and abuse, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funding to organizations and states over a number of issues, from allegations of fraud in programs in Democratic-run states to diversity efforts and pro-Palestinian college protests over attacks on Gaza by U.S. ally Israel.
On January 6, HHS announced that it had notified five states with Democratic governors that they would be freezing $2.4 billion in Child Care Development Funds, $7.35 billion in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and $869 million in Social Services Block Grants.
The province’s access to these funds will be restricted pending further review, the department said in a statement.
Democrats denounced the freeze. “Our state should not be a political pawn in the battle that Donald Trump seems to be waging with blue state governors,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, adding the move was “vindictive” and “cruel.”
The Trump administration has singled out Minnesota in recent weeks, alleging rampant immigration fraud in its welfare and social services programs.
Trump administration officials have frequently and sharply attacked the state’s largest Somali community, as well as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American Democratic congresswoman who represents a Minneapolis-based congressional district.
Human rights activists say the Trump administration is using the fraudulent investigation as a pretext to target immigrants and political opponents more broadly.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Kostas Pitas; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Thomas Derpinhaus)
