Overview
- California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York filed suit in federal court in Manhattan seeking to block the U.S. Health and Human Services freeze, calling it unconstitutional and unsupported by evidence.
- The hold covers roughly $7.3 billion in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, nearly $2.4 billion in Child Care and Development Fund dollars, and about $869 million from the Social Services Block Grant, following an earlier $185 million pause for Minnesota.
- HHS letters ordered states to turn over extensive program data, including beneficiaries’ names and Social Security numbers and child-care attendance records, while expanding a verification system that now requires justifications for child-care payments nationwide.
- The White House announced a new Justice Department fraud division and an Assistant Attorney General role to coordinate a national crackdown beginning in Minnesota, with federal prosecutors doubled in the state and thousands of ICE officers deployed.
- Federal prosecutors report 98 defendants charged and 64 convictions in Minnesota-related fraud cases, as political fallout intensifies with Vice President JD Vance urging Gov. Tim Walz to resign and Democratic leaders arguing the freeze harms vulnerable families.