What to know about the Trump administration freezing federal child care funding

The Trump administration said it would freeze child care funding in all states until it provides more verification and administrative data about the programs, in a move sparked by a series of fraud schemes at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents.

All 50 states will be affected by the review, but the Republican administration is focusing most of its ire on the blue state of Minnesota. Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement Wednesday that he was “exploring all of his legal options to ensure that critical child care services are not abruptly cut on the basis of excuses and grandstanding.”

Minnesota will face additional hurdles in restarting child care funding by requiring the state to provide additional certification for child care centers that are suspected of fraud. The administration is also calling for an audit of some Minnesota child care centers after a series of fraud schemes involving government programs in the state in recent years.

It’s unclear how much stronger the certification process for states will be than it was before the new measures were implemented.

Health and Human Services Undersecretary Jim O’Neill called it a response to “clear fraud rampant in Minnesota and across the country” in a social media post announcing the change Tuesday. Officials require all states to provide additional certification to receive child care funding.

Here are a few things to know about these tricks:

Additional certification is required for all states to receive child care funding

All 50 states must provide additional levels of verification and administrative data before receiving additional funding from the Child Care and Development Fund, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. However, before Minnesota can receive child care funding again, it must provide additional verification for child care centers in the state it suspects of fraud, such as attendance and licensing records, past enforcement actions and inspection reports.

In his post Tuesday, O’Neill said all administration child and family payments require “justification and a receipt or photo proof” before sending money nationwide, but an HHS spokesperson said Wednesday that additional verifications apply to CCDF payments.

Walz says Trump is politicizing the issue

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, said in a social media post that fraud is a serious issue the state has struggled with for years but that the move is part of “Trump’s long game.”

“He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz said.

State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy condemned the move in a statement Wednesday.

“Republicans are playing sick games and winning disastrous prizes,” Murphy said. “And now, tens of thousands of Minnesota families will pay the price as Donald Trump’s agents take away vital funding. Our day care system is already strained; this reckless decision could force a collapse that affects us all.”

Fraud investigations may spread to other programs, states

The administration began efforts in recent weeks to track fraud in other programs in Minnesota and is looking into fraud in other states. White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said in an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that the administration is considering similar fraud investigations in other blue states like California and New York.

The administration will continue to send officials to Minnesota to investigate “potential fraud sites” and deport undocumented immigrants, Levitt said, adding that the Department of Homeland Security is considering plans to denaturalize the citizens.

The Labor Department is also investigating the state’s unemployment insurance program, Levitt said. The administration this month threatened to withhold SNAP food aid funding from Democratic-controlled states, including Minnesota, unless they provide information about people receiving assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent a letter in December threatening to disqualify Minnesota from SNAP and cut funding for more than 100,000 households if they don’t prove eligibility and receive in-person interviews within 30 days, according to a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota attorney general, who criticized Levitt.

Focus on Minnesota

The announcement came a day after U.S. Homeland Security officials conducted a fraud investigation in Minneapolis, questioning workers at undisclosed businesses. Trump has criticized the Walz administration over the cases, capitalizing on them targeting the Somali diaspora in the state with the largest Somali population in the US.

In his post Tuesday, O’Neill, who serves as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referenced a right-wing influencer who posted a video last week claiming he found day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis were defrauded of up to $100 million.

Meanwhile, there is concern about the harassment that home-based day care providers and members of the Somali community may face nationwide vitriol, including Trump’s comments earlier this month, referring to Somali immigrants as “garbage.” Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown released a statement about harassment and fraud allegations against home-based day care providers, saying, “Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening or harassing them is not research. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home.”