WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Donald Trump administration plans to freeze 10 billion U.S. dollars in federal funding to five Democratic states -- Minnesota, California, New York, Illinois and Colorado -- amid alleged welfare fraud.
The funding, which includes child care subsidies, social services and cash support for low-income families, is being frozen over claims of widespread fraud across the states, without cited evidence, following a major welfare fraud scheme in Minnesota, according to The New York Times.
"The funding pause could jeopardize programs that serve hundreds of thousands of low-income households in the five states," the report said.
The latest plan came just a week after the Trump administration paused 185 million dollars in federal funding to the northern state of Minnesota after a series of alleged fraud schemes in recent years.
"We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota," Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Jim O'Neill said on Dec. 30 on the social media platform X. "You have probably read the serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade."
Neill announced Thursday that the HHS is implementing new requirements for child care payments across the country.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who accused the Trump administration of politicizing the issue, announced on Monday that he was dropping his bid for a third term as the welfare-fraud scandal in his state escalated.
Walz said the fraud allegations in Minnesota have largely targeted the Somali community.
"We've got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongfully confiscating funds that Minnesotans rely on. It's disgusting and it's dangerous," he said Monday as he announced his decision not to seek a third term. ■
