The Trump administration has illegally blocked $7 billion for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care Development Fund and roughly $870 million for social services grants that largely benefit children in five Democrat states: Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado, reports CBS News:
Mr. Trump has attacked California, led by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, as “more corrupt” than Minnesota. He said Tuesday in a Truth Social post that “the fraud investigation of California has begun.” The president has not provided evidence of wide-scale fraud in California social services and did not provide further details about a probe involving the state.
Beyond Minnesota, the Trump administration has also not put forth evidence of sweeping fraud schemes in social services in New York, Illinois and Colorado.
Still, over the past several months the Trump administration has turned off the spigot of funding to Democrat-led states and cities, particularly during the historic government shutdown last year. Mr. Trump paused billions of dollars for infrastructure and climate projects, and slashed disaster preparedness grants.
Democrats have accused the administration of playing politics with money that has been approved by Congress.
Andrew Nixon, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, falsely claimed that “Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” notes the New York Post.
(Sources: CBS News, New York Post