USDA immediately suspends all federal funding to Minnesota amid fraud investigation

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Minnesota fraud scandal reaches Capitol Hill

'The Will Cain Show' panelists discuss Capitol Hill testimony on the ongoing alleged Minnesota fraud scandal.

The Trump administration announced Thursday it is suspending all U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding to Minnesota, effective immediately, with a large-scale fraud investigation underway.

"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," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote in a social media post.

The USDA will suspend federal financial awards to the state "until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped," according to Rollins.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday the Trump administration is suspending federal funds in Minnesota amid fraud investigations. (Tom Williams/Getty)

'TIP OF THE ICEBERG': SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

"No more handouts to thieves!" she wrote in the post. "Time to drain the Minnesota swamp and put American taxpayers first."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said Minnesota tax dollars may have been filtered to terrorist group al-Shabab after a December investigation by his agency.

In one alleged fraud scheme, the nonprofit "Feeding Our Future" allegedly swindled $250 million from a USDA-funded children's nutrition program that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dozens of people are charged with faking invoices, attendance records and meal distribution in low-income communities in Minnesota, having allegedly used USDA COVID-era waivers that allowed for unchecked program enrollment.

Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News Channel)

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SAYS FOCUS SHOULD BE ON 'WHITE MEN' AT MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING

Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services froze funding for several childcare grant programs in the state, including the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Social Services Block Grant programs.

A federal judge blocked the action Friday, finding the Trump administration could not block federal funding for childcare subsidies and programs to aid low-income families, according to a report from The Associated Press.

KSTP reporter Jay Kolls investigated alleged fraud committed at Minnesota daycare centers in January 2025. (Screenshot/KSTP 5)

Another scheme allegedly involved the Housing Stability Services Program, which doled out Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services for those with disabilities, mental illnesses and substance-use disorders.

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Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.