Trump targets handful of blue states with $10 billion cut to child care funds

SACRAMENTO, California— The Trump administration will cut up to $10 billion in child care and social services funding from five Democratic-run states over unproven allegations of widespread fraud in their welfare systems.

Federal officials will notify California, Illinois, New York, Minnesota and Colorado in letters Tuesday of plans to freeze $7 billion from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, as well as $2.4 billion from the Child Care and Development Fund and $870 million in social services grants for children, the Health and Human Services Department confirmed to Politico Tuesday. The cuts were first reported by the New York Post.

Elected officials in the targeted states were gearing up to challenge the cuts in court.

“This is a fight we're going to have to take on if we get that notification,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference Tuesday. “It's vindictive. I believe that we'll be successful in court. We'll be having a litigation strategy. We'll fight this with every fiber of our being because our kids should not be political pawns.”

In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta had a similar message on Monday, saying the issue could become the latest in a long string of lawsuits he has brought to push back on moves by the Trump administration.

“If it's unlawful, if we can challenge it in court and be effective, like we have 80 percent of the time, and block it, then we will,” Bonta told Politico on Monday. “But right now, we're in the assessment period to make sure that we know what we're dealing with.”

The move against the states’ welfare programs and child care funding appeared to be an extension of an escalating scandal in Minnesota amid allegations of fraud in the state’s child care system. The administration already has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars for Minnesota and federal HHS officials now say without offering evidence of wrongdoing that other states should be scrutinized as well.

“For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS said in a statement to Politico. “Under the Trump Administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and HHS Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families Alex Adams posted a video on social media Tuesday proposing new guidelines for how childcare funds can be used in the future.

Lindsey Holden contributed to this report.