- Trump admin suspends $129M payments to
Minnesota. - Targets federal benefits amid fraud
allegations. - Widespread fraud claimed in the state.
- Action announced by Trump administration
officials.
On Friday,
Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA),
posted a letter on social media to Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, and
Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis. The letter informed them of the
administration’s decision and cited investigations into alleged fraud by local
businesses and non-profits.
“Despite a
staggering, wide-reaching fraud scandal, your administrations refuse to provide
basic information or take common sense measures to stop fraud. The Trump
administration refuses to allow such fraud to continue,”
Rollins wrote.
Rollins requested that
Walz and Frey give USDA a 30-day explanation of all federal expenditures from
January 20, 2025, until the present. Additionally, she is mandating that the
same explanation be provided for all future federal payments to the state.
“We’re
communicating with state partners to understand the impacts of such a blanket
cut to funding meant for residents most in need,”
Brian Feintech, a
spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis, told the Guardian in a written
statement in response to Rollins’ letter.
“What’s abundantly
clear is that Minneapolis is the latest target of the Trump administration –
willing to harm Americans in service to its perceived political gain.”
The USDA’s move is in
line with a federal decision that states the Trump administration cannot
obstruct government funding for programs that assist low-income families, such
as childcare subsidies.
Over the past year,
the Trump administration has targeted
Minnesota due to accusations of fraud, focusing on the Somali community in the
state. According to federal prosecutors, up to $9 billion has been pilfered
through various scams purportedly connected to the Somali community in the
state.
In November 2025,
Trump terminated the state’s legal protections for Somali immigration on the
grounds that
“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State,
and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing.”
Return them to their original
location.
Soon after, during a
cabinet meeting, Trump launched a xenophobic tirade against both Somalis and
Ilhan Omar, the US citizen and Somali congressman from Minnesota.
“They contribute
nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,”
the president said. He
called Omar “garbage” and said “we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep
taking in garbage into our country”.
The FBI’s director,
Kash Patel, stated that a month later, in December 2025, the agency was
allocating more personnel and investigative resources to “dismantle
large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs” in the state. In a
case that resulted in 78 charges and 57 convictions, Patel claimed the agency
had already disrupted a $250 million fraud operation that misappropriated
federal food aid intended for needy children during the Covid outbreak.
Walz declared last
week that he would not seek a third term as governor of Minnesota due to Trump
and Republicans’ harsh criticism of his handling of the fraud. Walz admitted in
his statement that the president and his political supporters had exploited the
issue to further polarize the state.
“I won’t mince
words here,”
Walz said.
“Donald Trump and
his allies – in Washington, in St Paul and online – want to make our state a
colder, meaner place.”
What specific programs
are affected by the $129 million suspension?
The$ 129 million
suspense targets SNAP( Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/ food prints),
Child Care and Development Fund, Housing Stabilization Services, and colorful
daycare subventions, stemming from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ directive
citing systemic fraud.
A civil judge
contemporaneously blocked a broader Trump essay to indurate$ 10 billion in
child care and social services aid across five Popular- led countries (Minnesota,
New York, California, Illinois, Colorado), ruling unwarranted fraud claims
inadequate for withholding congressionally appropriated finances.
State and Minneapolis
officers must submit expenditure apologies back to January 20, 2025, within 30
days, with unborn payments taking pre-approval. Resistance triggers endless
withholding, amid broader Trump scrutiny of Popular- led countries’ weal
administration.
