On Jan. 6 President Trump announced that funding for childcare, social services, and welfare will be frozen for five democratic led states, citing fraud as the main concern. California Governor Gavin Newsom immediately dismissed the claims.
California, Colorado, New York, Illinois and Minnesota are the five states that will be affected if the freeze successfully occurs. Assistance for low-income families, child care and the many services following are in jeopardy. Critics and political experts suggest that the announcement strategically targets blue states and is another politically motivated decision brought forth by the Trump administration.
On Jan. 6 Trump wrote a post on Truth Social, his social media site, saying the following: “California, under Governor Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.” Newscum is a term that has been coined by many critics of Governor Newsom, standing for his last name, but used as an insult due to their critiques of his work as a Governor.
Trump then went on to repost an article by The New York Post that suggested the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will put a pause of taxpayer funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Child Care Development Fund and the Social Services Block Grant program. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program is essentially CalWORKS, in California.
A spokesman for HHS, Andrew Nixon, released the following statement, fully acknowledging the announcement. “ For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,’” Nixon said. “ 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.”
In Minnesota, claims of “blatant fraud” from the Trump Administration, through the midst of mass deportation efforts towards Somali immigrants, is the one of the reasons for the announcement.
How can the freeze affect Los Angeles?
As of Jan. 9, California and the other four states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, citing that the cap on social welfare funding allegedly violates Congress’s spending authority and is founded on unfounded claims of social services fraud. A federal judge has also blocked the Trump administration from the $10 billion freeze, temporarily, for two weeks according to multiple reports. The block , issued by District Judge Arun Subramanian, was in response to the lawsuit and request from the five democratic led states urging for an emergency injunction.
The funding set aside to supply the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Social Services Block Grants and the Child Care Development Fund, will continue to be given to the five blue led states until further notice. The block was issued in order to give both parties within the suit time to further support extensive legal arguments on whether the cuts should occur or if the block should remain in place, according to the Judge.
In Los Angeles, specifically, a little over 4.2 million people rely on social welfare service according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). If the funding freeze were to go through, recipients who receive services such as CalFresh (SNAP), CalWORKs (cash aid), housing assistance, and homeless services would be impacted.
California General Attorney Rob Bonta played a key role in securing the block, a temporary restraining order, for California. “Again and again, President Trump has shown a willingness to throw vulnerable children, seniors, and families under the bus if he thinks it will advance his vendetta against Democratic-led states,” he said. “ Cutting funding for childcare and other family assistance is cruel, reckless, and most importantly, illegal.
Today’s emergency order is an important victory for the millions of hardworking California families who benefit from these programs — but we won’t stop fighting until we block this unlawful funding freeze permanently.”
