Trump administration suspends $129m in benefit payments to Minnesota | Minnesota
The Trump administration announced it is suspending $129 million in federal aid payments to Minnesota amid allegations of widespread fraud in the state.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) secretary Brooke Rollins shared a letter on social media Friday addressed to Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, informing them of the administration’s decision and citing investigations into alleged fraud by local nonprofits and businesses.
“Despite a stunning, far-reaching fraud scandal, your administrations refuse to provide basic information or take common-sense measures to stop fraud. The Trump administration refuses to allow this type of fraud to continue,” Rollins wrote.
Rollins asked Walz and Frey to provide the USDA with justification for all federal spending from January 20, 2025, through the present, within 30 days. He also demands that all federal payments to the state be based on the same justification.
“We are in communication with state partners to understand the impacts of such an across-the-board cut in funding for residents most in need,” Brian Feintech, a spokesman for the city of Minneapolis, said in a written statement to the Guardian in response to Rollins’ letter.
“What is abundantly clear is that Minneapolis is the latest target of the Trump administration, willing to harm Americans for perceived political gain.”
The Guardian contacted Walz’s office for comment.
Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, publicly responded to Rollins’ post: write to x: “I won’t let you take money from Minnesotans who need it. See you in court.”
USDA’s announcement dovetails with a federal ruling that the Trump administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from reaching five Democratic-led states, including Minnesota.
The Trump administration was targeting Minnesota last year over allegations of fraud, particularly the state’s Somali population. Federal prosecutors estimate that $9 billion was stolen in alleged schemes linked to the state’s Somali population.
Trump ended legal protections for Somali immigrants in the state in November 2025, claiming “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, billions of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from.”
Shortly thereafter, Trump attacked both Somalis and Minnesota congressional representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali and US citizen, with xenophobic rhetoric during a cabinet meeting.
“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” the president said. He called Ömer “garbage” and said, “If we continue to bring garbage into our country, we will go down the wrong path.”
A month later, in December 2025, the FBI announced that it would deploy additional investigative and personnel resources to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes that take advantage of federal programs” in the state, according to its director, Kash Patel. Patel said the agency has already dismantled one system. $250 million fraud scheme who stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during the Covid pandemic in a case that led to 78 charges and 57 convictions.
Last week, Walz announced he would not seek a third term as governor of Minnesota as his stance on fraud came under intense scrutiny from Trump and Republicans. Walz acknowledged in his announcement that the president and his political allies are taking advantage of the crisis to cause further division in the state.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush here,” Walz said. “Donald Trump and his allies in Washington, St. Paul and online want to make our state a colder, meaner place.”
