U.S. President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attend a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission event, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 22, 2025. <\/p>\n
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters<\/p>\n
The Trump administration<\/a> on Tuesday said it was freezing $10 billion in federal grant funds<\/a> for certain child care and family assistance programs in five states because of “serious concerns about widespread fraud” in state-administered programs.<\/p>\n All five states targeted by the freeze \u2014 California<\/a>, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota<\/a>, and New York \u2014 are led by Democrats.<\/p>\n The action applies to three programs overseen by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department<\/a>‘s Administration for Children and Families: Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,<\/a> and Social Services Block Grant<\/a>.<\/p>\n The move comes a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz<\/a> dropped his bid for a third term amid political fallout from widespread fraud in social service programs in the state, including child-care services, which a federal prosecutor has estimated cost more than $9 billion.<\/p>\n “Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” said Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill in a statement.<\/p>\n “This action reflects our commitment to program integrity, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with federal requirements,” O’Neill said.<\/p>\n More than $7.3 billion in TANF funds have been frozen, and nearly $2.4 billion in CCDF funds have been frozen. Nearly $840 million in Social Services Block Grant funding was frozen.<\/p>\n Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasted President Donald Trump<\/a> for the freeze.<\/p>\n “Rather than making it more affordable for families, Trump\u00a0is\u00a0stripping away child care from those just trying to go to work,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n “Thousands depend on these\u00a0programs, and now their livelihoods are at risk,” Pritzker wrote. “It’s wrong and cruel \u2014 we’ll take every\u00a0step\u00a0possible to defend Illinoisians.”<\/p>\n