HHS freezes all child care funding for Minnesota...

Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill alleged in a video posted to the department’s YouTube channel Tuesday afternoon that “the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake day cares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the last decade.” HHS currently provides Minnesota with $185 million in annual child care funding, according to Alex Adams, assistant HHS secretary for family support. O’Neill said he had sent a letter to Walz demanding a “comprehensive audit” of Minnesota’s child care centers. The deputy secretary also announced the launch of a fraud-reporting hotline and a requirement that all recipients of HHS child care funding provide a justification and receipt or photo evidence before receiving funds. Walz’s office said in a statement that he had been “combatting fraud for years while the President has been letting fraudsters out of jail.” “Fraud is a serious issue. But this is a transparent attempt to politicize the issue to hurt Minnesotans and defund government programs that help people,” the office said. President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Walz and other Minnesota Democrats, calling the governor “retarded” and criticizing Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Muslim faith in a November social media post. Trump has also on several occasions condemned members of the Somali diaspora — 80,000 live in Minnesota — calling them “garbage” and telling reporters earlier this month: “I don’t want them in our country.” While Feeding our Future founder Aimee Bock, who was found guilty by a grand jury, is white, several other Minnesotans charged in the investigation are Somali Americans, CNN has reported. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Monday social media post that DHS investigators were “on the ground in Minneapolis right now conducting a massive investigation” into the allegations. The scandal attracted newfound attention from the Trump administration last week after conservative influencer Nick Shirley alleged in a video last week that nearly a dozen Minnesota day care centers are misusing public funds.