The Trump administration plans to halt $10 billion in federal funding for child care assistance, low income and social service funds in Illinois and four other Democrat-led states, alleging unspecified “massive amounts of fraud.”
The pause in funding comes about a week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was freezing child care funds in Minnesota and asking for an audit of day care centers amid allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents. In announcing that freeze, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said there is “blatant fraud” in Minnesota “and across the country.”
Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado will be cut off from $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance for households with children, nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund, which helps support working parents with child care and around $870 million for social services grants that help children at risk, according to an HHS official.
That equates to about $1 billion in cuts to Illinois, including all funds for programs and services provided through the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Social Services Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said on Tuesday night.
It marks the latest in a series of pauses in federal funding to Illinois that began when Trump took office last January, including social service, infrastructure and climate-related dollars.
“For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement. “Under the Trump Administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”
Illinois received a letter about the funding pause on Tuesday.
“This is yet another politically-motivated action by the Trump Administration that confuses families and leaves states with more questions than answers,” an Illinois Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in a statement.
Pritzker criticized the freeze, calling it an example of Trump “stripping away child care from Illinois families who are trying to go to work.”
“Thousands of parents and children depend on these child care programs to help them make ends meet, and now their livelihoods are being put at risk,” the governor said in a statement. “This is wrong, it is cruel, and we will take every step possible to defend the kinds and families depending on all of us right now.”
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for the U.S. Senate in the March 17 Democratic primary, called the pending freeze “deeply disturbing.”
“Such a move wouldn’t punish bad actors — it would harm working parents and children who rely on these programs. As someone who grew up on essential social programs when my family got knocked down, I know firsthand how life-changing that support can be,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “At a time when Illinois families are already facing an affordability crisis, the Trump Administration should not undermine support that helps parents remain in the workforce or play petty politics with the well-being of America’s families.”
Trump has deployed at least 2,000 federal agents to Minnesota amid a welfare fraud scandal. Federal prosecutors in December said half of more than roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been stolen, the Associated Press reported.
Trump has used the fraud scandal to target the Somali population in Minnesota. A social media video posted by a right-wing influencer in late December reignited the fraud claims against daycare centers run by Somali people. Since then, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, citing “an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.”
During a New Year’s Eve event, Trump claimed to reporters that fraud in Minnesota was “peanuts.”
“California is worse, Illinois is worse and, sadly, New York is worse — a lot of other places,” Trump said. “So, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
