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A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing more than $10 billion in federal funding for childcare and family assistance programs in five Democratic-led states, marking a significant legal setback for the White House. The ruling came on Friday from U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan, who issued a temporary restraining order after California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York filed an emergency lawsuit challenging the freeze.
The dispute began earlier this week when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it would suspend access to federal funds for the five states, citing concerns over alleged fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars. According to HHS, there were worries that benefits under certain welfare programs may have been improperly distributed, potentially to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The frozen funds included more than $7 billion from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance to low-income families with children. An additional $2.4 billion from the Child Care and Development Fund, designed to help working families afford childcare, was also affected, along with roughly $870 million in social services grants aimed at supporting children and vulnerable families.
Judge Subramanian said his decision was based on the arguments outlined in the states’ legal filing, which claimed that HHS lacked statutory authority to impose such a freeze. The states argued that the Trump administration had overstepped its powers and infringed on Congress’s constitutional role in allocating federal funds. They further alleged that the fraud accusations were unsubstantiated and served as a pretext to punish political opponents by withholding essential funding.
The White House did not immediately comment on the ruling. Meanwhile, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the Department of Agriculture had also frozen certain federal benefit programs for Minnesota, citing similar fraud allegations.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat and former running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election won by Donald Trump, recently announced he will not seek a third term, stating he wants to focus on addressing the ongoing fraud controversy.
The temporary restraining order keeps the federal funds flowing for now, while the legal battle over executive authority, federal welfare programs, and alleged fraud continues to unfold in court.
