Where there’s widespread illegal activity from elected and appointed leaders in blue cities, Democrats are nearly always involved. Take, say, Minnesota.
Vice President JD Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration is temporarily suspending $259 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota due to concerns about widespread welfare fraud.
During a joint press conference, Vance and Oz explained that this funding freeze would affect federal matching funds for Minnesota’s healthcare program for low-income residents. This decision follows a recent audit of the state’s spending.
Vance, who President Donald Trump tapped to lead a national “war on fraud,” said the freeze ensures “the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax dollars.”
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The VP further explained that “the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American people.”
JD Vance: “We’re announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that is going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax… pic.twitter.com/ccmOZlpBR5
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2026
Minnesota has come under scrutiny in recent months after it was revealed that fraudsters had swindled billions of dollars from its Medicaid-funded services, including daycare, autism therapy, and housing assistance, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The DHS report identified a “too trusting mindset” and a system that is “biased toward facilitating payments rather than safeguarding funds” as key factors contributing to the rampant fraud occurring in the state.
Oz discussed the issue during his appearance on Chris Cuomo’s podcast, where he noted that his department had made efforts to collaborate with Minnesota for several months. He noted that he sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz saying, “You have to provide me a corrective action plan so our government can judge if you’re serious about taking on these issues that have been raised for years.”
Today on @ChrisCuomo Mornings, @DrOz joined the show and gave a detailed breakdown on the Medicaid funding freeze for Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/tu2htAQuUw
— SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S. (@siriusxmpotus) February 26, 2026
He described Minnesota’s response to the letter as “inadequate” and that “you would not have felt that they were as sincere as they needed to be.”
Minnesota is one of several Democratic states under investigation by the White House. The administration is also auditing California, Colorado, and New York.
