Overview
- HHS said child‑care payments to Minnesota providers featured in the videos are frozen until operators submit attendance records and pass audits, and the agency announced tighter verification measures for such funding nationwide.
- The White House praised Nick Shirley’s video and said it triggered a multi‑agency push, with the FBI and DHS increasing on‑the‑ground investigations and the SBA reviewing and suspending suspect pandemic‑era loans in Minnesota.
- Minnesota officials dispute sweeping fraud claims, citing recent site visits that documented children at many centers, while operators report harassment and vandalism following the video’s viral spread.
- House Oversight Chair James Comer plans a January hearing on misuse of federal funds and has invited Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to appear before the committee in February.
- New reporting notes several highlighted centers served as Feeding Our Future meal sites and some have regulatory violations, though none have been charged, and similar citizen filming in Washington state drew warnings from officials about harassment and due process.