Nicolai Haugsted
Trump administration targets California and Minnesota with Medicaid freeze.
Federal funding for healthcare programs in two Democratic-led states has become the latest flashpoint in the political battle between the Trump administration and some of its most outspoken critics.
According to The Irish Star, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services is freezing more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota while federal officials investigate what they describe as suspected fraud.
According to Kennedy, the administration will not release additional Medicaid funding until officials are convinced the money is being spent legally.
“We are not sending Medicaid dollars out the door until we have confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately.”
Kennedy also called on California Governor Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to provide proof that the disputed payments are legitimate, warning that the funding freeze will remain in place until then.
California stands to lose more than $867 million under the decision, while nearly $200 million has been withheld from Minnesota.
Fraud allegations target healthcare spending
Kennedy blamed the previous Biden administration for weakening oversight of taxpayer money.
“Instead of protecting your money, they open the floodgates to theft. They dismantle basic program integrity and oversight.”
Federal officials say 14 areas in Minnesota have been identified as particularly vulnerable because of suspected fraud or weaknesses in oversight.
California has also drawn increased scrutiny after federal officials reported a sharp rise in Medicaid spending. According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, spending in the relevant programs climbed to 24 percent over the past two years, compared with a nationwide average of 12 percent.
Kennedy said investigators believe much of the suspected fraud is linked to in-home care services, an area that both he and President Donald Trump have repeatedly criticized.
Political backlash erupts
The announcement quickly sparked fierce criticism online, where opponents accused the administration of using federal funding as political leverage against Democratic leaders.
One X user wrote:
“He is intentionally harming citizens. This is targeted retribution. Truly evil s—. The blood of Americans in those states will be on your hands.”
The funding dispute follows comments made by Vice President JD Vance earlier this year, when he warned that states refusing to cooperate with a newly created federal fraud task force could lose federal healthcare funding.
Beyond the immediate funding freeze, Kennedy said the Department of Health and Human Services is pushing for expanded authority to intervene directly in state-run healthcare programs.
Plans under consideration would allow federal officials to remove organizations suspected of fraud from Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs without waiting for action from individual states. Kennedy also said the administration wants the power to permanently bar those identified as “bad actors” from receiving future federal healthcare funding.
