On Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration's efforts to suspend federal funding to five Democratic-led states, specifically California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The disputed funds support a range of social assistance programs, including child care subsidies for families with low income. According to legal filings and oral arguments presented during a court hearing earlier that day, these states argued that the sudden freeze of billions of dollars was already causing significant disruption and operational uncertainty in their social service systems.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) justified its funding freeze by expressing suspicion that some of these states were extending benefits to individuals residing in the country illegally. However, the agency did not provide concrete evidence during court proceedings nor clarify why these five states were singled out when others were not subject to similar administrative actions.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, refrained from making a determination on the ultimate legality of the funding suspension. Instead, the judge found that the affected states had demonstrated sufficient grounds to maintain the existing funding levels temporarily to preserve the operational status quo during ongoing litigation. This preliminary relief is set for at least a 14-day period as the courts further examine the dispute.
Among the impacted programs are the Child Care and Development Fund, which plays a critical role in subsidizing child care for approximately 1.3 million children from economically disadvantaged families. Additionally, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which delivers cash assistance and facilitates job training, and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller funding source supporting a variety of social service initiatives, have all been affected by the freeze.
Collectively, these five states receive over $10 billion annually through these programs. New York Attorney General Letitia James, spearheading the legal challenge, welcomed the judge's ruling, describing it as a vital victory for families whose lives are destabilized by the federal government's actions.
The federal authorities have also requested extensive data from the states, including personal identification details such as names and Social Security numbers of all beneficiaries from certain programs dating back to 2022. The states contend that this demand infringes constitutional protections and represents a politically motivated effort targeting opposition-led states rather than a genuine attempt to curb program fraud, which they maintain they already address thoroughly.
During the court hearing, Jessica Ranucci, a lawyer from the New York Attorney General's office, testified that at least four of the states had already experienced delays in receiving funds following their disbursement requests. She emphasized that any interruption of child care funding would create immediate insecurity for families reliant on these programs and could jeopardize service providers.
In response, federal attorney Kamika Shaw indicated that, to her knowledge, the distribution of funds to the states had not ceased.
In addition to the funding challenges faced by the five targeted states, the other 45 states are now subject to new administrative requirements, including verifying attendance at child care centers and providing rigorous justifications for fund usage consistent with program goals.
Coinciding with the court's injunction on child care subsidies, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a separate freeze involving approximately $130 million in annual funding to Minnesota. This decision stems from perceived inadequate prevention of fraudulent activity within state-managed programs.
Federal investigations uncovered that the Minnesota nonprofit group Feeding Our Future had misappropriated $250 million from a food relief program established during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to charges against 78 individuals and convictions of 57. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s office had not immediately issued a statement regarding this funding suspension as of Friday evening. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Keith Ellison expressed intentions to legally challenge the freeze.
In a letter made public on social media by Secretary Rollins, she suggested that Minnesota might regain access to funds by providing proper accountability concerning federal expenditures over the last year. She warned that all future transactions would require similar justifications.
Minnesota and Governor Walz have become focal points of scrutiny and enforcement under the Trump administration's second term. Notably, the President's recent remarks disparaging the state's Somali community and the subsequent large-scale immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis, which included a fatal shooting during a federal operation, underscore the administration’s ongoing confrontations with the state.