Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday vowed that the Trump administration will take further action to crack down on alleged fraud at Minnesota day cares after it froze all child care payments to the state.
“Turning off payments and forcing verification before taxpayer money flows out the door is one of the most important steps we can take to end the fraud in Minnesota. But there will be many more to come,” Mr. Vance wrote on X.
The vice president did not specify what actions will be next as the administration probes up to $100 million in alleged fraud at day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced a slew of actions to combat alleged widespread fraud throughout the state. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and Assistant Secretary Alex Adams said that in addition to halting all payments to Minnesota, the administration was implementing more stringent requirements for childcare payments nationwide.
Mr. O’Neill said payments made through the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department will require “justification and receipt or photo evidence” before money is sent. It also launched a fraud-reporting hotline and email address.
HHS is demanding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, submit an audit of these centers that includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections.
Mr. Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, has accused the Trump administration of politicizing the allegations of fraud.
“This is Trump’s long game,” Mr. Walz posted late Tuesday on X. “We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue — but this has been his plan all along.”
“He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” he added.
The administration’s move comes after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a video of himself going to Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota and seeing whether children were present.
Mr. Shirley said in a video that he uncovered more than $100 million in fraud at those centers. He visited multiple Minnesota day care facilities — including the Quality Learning Center in South Minneapolis — that had received a large amount of state funds but appeared inactive. The Quality Learning Center had a sign that spelled “learning” as “learing.”
Neither Mr. O’Neil nor Mr. Adams said how much money is being frozen. The funds went to Somali immigrants in Minnesota to run day care centers.
Minnesota has the largest Somali community in the country.
