By HALLIE GOLDEN, Associated Press President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday that it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years. Related Articles In a tumultuous year, US health policy has been dramatically reshaped under RFK Jr. Judge blocks White House’s attempt to defund the CFPB, ensuring employees get paid ‘Trump’s EPA’ in 2025: A fossil fuel-friendly approach to deregulation Trump administration rolls out rural health funding, with strings attached Trump warns Iran of further US strikes if it reconstitutes nuclear program during Netanyahu visit Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on the social platform X that the step is in response to “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back in a post on X, saying fraudsters are a serious issue that the state has spent years cracking down on but that this move is part of “Trump’s long game.” “He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz said. O’Neil called out a right-wing influencer who had posted a video Friday claiming he found that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud. O’Neill said he has demanded Walz submit an audit of these centers that includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections. Earlier coverage: Video alleging fraud in Minnesota draws federal response; state casts doubt on it “We have turned off the money spigot…
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