Trump Administration suspends all USDA funding to Minnesota for million-dollar fraud

The Trump Administration announced Friday the immediate suspension of all federal funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) earmarked for the state of Minnesota, amid a large-scale fraud investigation that the federal government says would have diverted billions of dollars from publicly funded programs.

The move was confirmed by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who argued that the White House decided to cut off funding after detecting a systemic corruption scheme without state authorities presenting a credible plan to stop it.

"Enough is enough! The Trump administration has uncovered MASSIVE fraud in Minnesota and Minneapolis—billions siphoned off by fraudsters. And those in charge have ZERO plan to fix it," Rollins wrote on social media. 

As Rollins explained, the funds will remain frozen until the state sufficiently demonstrates that the fraud has been completely stopped. "No more handouts to thieves. Time to drain the Minnesota swamp and put American taxpayers first," he added.

Diversion of funds during pandemic

The USDA's decision follows a series of federal investigations pointing to multimillion-dollar fraud in welfare programs, particularly those administered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the most notorious cases involves the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future, accused of diverting at least $250 million from a USDA-funded child nutrition program through false invoices, manipulated attendance records and fictitious reports of food distribution in low-income communities.

In addition, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that part of the Minnesota could have ended up in the hands of the terrorist group Al-Shabab, a revelation that elevated the political and national security gravity of the case.

Adding to these scandals are alleged irregularities in day care, subsidized housing and housing stability services programs funded with Medicaid, which has made Minnesota the epicenter of one of the biggest welfare frauds in recent years.

Judge blocks another welfare freeze

In parallel, and in a separate case, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked a separate Trump Administration measure seeking to freeze nearly $10 billion in federal funding for social services and child care in five states governed by Democrats, including Minnesota. 

Judge Arun Subramanian ordered the resources to keep flowing while a lawsuit filed by New York, California, Minnesota, Illinois, and Colorado, which claimed the freeze could create immediate harm to vulnerable families, moves forward.

The injunction is limited to specific welfare programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Child Care and Development Fund, and does not reverse USDA's suspension, which remains in place.