Trump Admin Freezes Welfare Funds To Five Blue States Over Fraud Concerns

The Department of Health and Human Services will freeze $10 billion in funding for multiple welfare programs in five blue states over fraud concerns. 

HHS will pause funding for programs that provide childcare and food assistance in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York as officials probe whether the benefits are being illegally funneled to non-citizens. The specific programs being halted in those states are the Child Care Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.

“Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” said HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon. “Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes.”

The states were notified of the pause in letters sent out by HHS on Monday. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that the impending freeze was motivated by politics. 

“Trump is threatening to freeze child care funding in New York and targeting our children for political retribution. It’s immoral and indefensible,” she wrote on X. 

The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is a partnership program funded by the federal government and the states that provides financial assistance to low-income families to help them care for their children while they work or attend school. 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally funded, state-administered program that provides cash assistance to low-income families for food, housing, home energy, and child care. 

The Social Services Block Grant is a program that provides funds to states, which they then allocate to various welfare programs. 

The freeze was first reported by the New York Post, which noted that the pause will impact $7.35 billion in TANF funds, $2.4 billion in CCDF funds, and $869 million in Social Services Block Grant funds. 

The Trump administration has recently increased scrutiny on states like Minnesota and California over alleged widespread fraud. Last week, HHS paused all childcare payments to the state of Minnesota while it investigates allegations that millions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled to fraudulent daycares across the state throughout the past ten years. 

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said investigations into California were beginning. 

“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

RELATED: Trump Says Fraud Investigation ‘Has Begun’ In Newsom’s California: “More Corrupt Than Minnesota’