Trump administration halts more than $10bn for childcare and family assistance | US news
Donald Trump’s administration is freezing more than $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funding for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said, citing concerns about fraud and abuse.
“For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has threatened federal funding cuts to organizations and states over a variety of issues, from allegations of fraud in programs run by Democratic-run states to diversity initiatives to pro-Palestinian university protests against U.S. ally Israel’s attack on Gaza.
On Tuesday, HHS said it notified five states, all with Democratic governors, that it was implementing freezes on the $2.4 billion Child Care and Development Fund, the $7.35 billion “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families” and the $869 million “Social Services Block Grant.”
The department said in a statement that states’ access to these funds will be restricted pending further review. The administration did not provide details about the fraud allegations, which were first reported by the New York Post, or the expansion plan to withhold funds.
Democrats condemned the freeze. “Our states should not be political pawns in Donald Trump’s fight with blue state governors,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said, adding that the step was “vindictive” and “cruel.”
Trump didn’t talk about specifics, but announced on social media Tuesday: “California Fraud Investigation has begun.”
As a result, HHS officials said, no state will receive child care funding without further verification. Several states told The Associated Press they had not received any guidance on this decision.
Tara Gallegos, a spokeswoman for California governor Gavin Newsom, said in an email that “Donald Trump is an unstable, habitual liar whose relationship with reality ended years ago” and defended California’s record on eliminating fraud in government programs.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said Trump’s move to halt funding was aimed at scoring political points, not stopping fraud.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has targeted Minnesota, alleging widespread fraud by immigrants in the welfare system and social service programs.
Trump administration officials have frequently and harshly attacked the nation’s largest community in the state, as well as Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American Democrat who represents a Minneapolis-based district in Congress.
Federal child care funding has been suspended in Minnesota since late last month amid investigations into allegations of fraud at daycares run by people with family roots in Somalia.
Rights advocates say the Trump administration is using fraud investigations as an excuse to target immigrants and political opponents more broadly.
