Trump administration freezes billions in social services funding to 5 Dem states, including Illinois

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is freezing $10 billion in funds for social services and child care in five Democratic-led states, including Illinois, according to a Health and Human Services official, with the agency suggesting without evidence that the funding has been used fraudulently.

The freeze, first reported by the New York Post, will impact California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, according to news reports confirmed by HHS.

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HHS will cut more than $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households, along with more than $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund. The department will also hold around $870 million from the Social Services Block Grant.

"For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told CNN. "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."

A spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Human Services said it has not been contacted by the administration regarding the news about a child care funding freeze in the state of Illinois.

"IDHS has not received any official communication or notification on impacts to federal funding. This is yet another politically-motivated action by the Trump Administration that confuses families and leaves states with more questions than answers. IDHS will provide an update if it is made aware of program or funding changes," IDHS said in a statement to ABC News.

The Colorado Department of Human Services told CNN that the agency has not received a notification from the administration about the freeze.

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"Should these funding sources change, we remain committed to supporting our families in Colorado and will continue to advocate for the programs and services that help them thrive," the department said.

The news comes just days after the Trump administration paused federal funding of child care programs in Minnesota amid a deepening federal probe into allegations of fraud involving social services. The allegations were made in a YouTube video by 23-year-old content creator Nick Shirley, who claimed, with little evidence, that Somali-run child care centers in Minnesota were fraudulently taking funding meant to provide child care for low-income families.

In the wake of the viral video, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI ramped up their presence in the state, federal funding for child care there was frozen and the Trump administration said it is deploying 2,000 federal agents as part of an immigration crackdown. Federal and state investigations into alleged wrongdoing are ongoing.

There has been no evidence to suggest the other four Democratic states have suffered widespread fraud.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, condemned the funding freeze and accused the administration of "political retribution."

"To use the power of the government to harm the neediest Americans is immoral and indefensible" the senator said in statement posted on X. "This has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with political retribution that punishes poor children in need of assistance."

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin released the following statement:
"Despite running on a promise to lower costs for middle-class Americans, Donald Trump once again appears poised to hurt the very families he promised he'd protect by gutting support for critical child care programs that so many families rely on.

"By ripping away $10 billion for child care and social services in Illinois and four other states, Trump is exacerbating the ongoing child care shortage and cynically picking and choosing which families deserve help. Playing politics and coming after kids simply because they live in states that voted against him is anything but America First.

"As child care and health care costs skyrocket because of Trump's policies, we will continue working with Governor Pritzker and our local leaders to repair the damage he's done and help ensure families have the access to affordable child care programs they need and deserve."

ABC News and ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.

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