Trump admin pausing over $1B in Medicaid payments to Minnesota, California over fraud, compliance concerns

The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning Tuesday that states won't receive another taxpayer dollar until they prove the payments were legitimate.

"If Governor Gavin Newsom or Governor Tim Walz wants this funding released, all they have to do is provide basic documentation showing that these services are legitimate and not fraudulent. And that's common sense," Kennedy said during a news conference on Tuesday.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stand behind U.S. President Donald Trump as he points while delivering remarks about health care costs and affordability from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 18, 2026. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)

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