President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding that California turn over detailed records on individuals and organizations receiving taxpayer-funded welfare benefits amid mounting concerns that federal money has been fraudulently diverted to noncitizens.
On Tuesday, the administration announced it will pause more than $10 billion in federal funding to five Democrat-led states, including California.
The move comes as investigators examine allegations of widespread abuse in social services programs.
In a series of letters sent to California’s Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) informed state officials that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will temporarily halt funding tied to the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Social Services Block Grant.
The letters demand extensive documentation, including verified attendance records for subsidized childcare, logs of service hours, and payment information from providers, according to reporting by the New York Post.
One letter related to TANF goes further, requesting recipients’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.
According to the Post, ACF Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams wrote in the correspondence:
“These concerns have been heightened by recent federal prosecutions and additional allegations that substantial portions of federal resources were fraudulently diverted away from the American families they were intended to assist.”
Adams also accused California of unlawfully extending benefits to noncitizens.
“ACF has reason to believe that the State of California is illicitly providing illegal aliens with CCDF benefits intended for American citizens and lawful permanent residents,” he said.
In total, more than $7.3 billion in TANF funding is being withheld from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, along with nearly $2.4 billion from CCDF and an additional $869 million from the Social Services Block Grant.
President Trump weighed in forcefully on the move, singling out California and its leadership.
In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible???”
“The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The funding pause follows intense scrutiny of Minnesota’s sprawling welfare fraud scandal, where federal prosecutors have charged more than 90 individuals since 2022 in what authorities have described as the largest pandemic-era fraud scheme in U.S. history.
Many of those charged were tied to fraudulent meal programs, housing assistance, daycare centers, and Medicaid services.
While investigators are still determining the full scope of the losses, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota has said the total amount of stolen funds could exceed $1 billion.
However, officials warn that the scale of the fraud could potentially rise as high as $9 billion.
Federal officials say similar warning signs have now emerged in other states.
It is prompting the Trump administration to take aggressive action to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure welfare programs are serving eligible American families as intended.
READ MORE – Strange Photos Spotted on Walls of Minnesota ‘Daycare’ Raise Fraud Concerns
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