The Trump administration cut off California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York from over $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funds.

Democrats immediately declared this an attack on children.

But here’s the thing: the money was supposed to help children in the first place. If it’s being stolen by fraudsters, freezing it isn’t cruel — it’s the first step toward making sure actual kids get actual help.

Apparently that’s a controversial position now.

$10 Billion Frozen Until States Prove Compliance

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the freeze Tuesday, affecting three major funding streams:

Nearly $2.4 billion in Child Care and Development Fund money.

$7.35 billion in Temporary Assistance for Needy Family funds.

$869 million in Social Services Block Grant funds.

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill explained the rationale: “Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose.”

The funds will remain frozen until the Administration for Children and Families completes a review and determines that affected states are actually following federal requirements.

That seems… reasonable? Unless you’re a Democrat, apparently.

No More Paying Daycares Without Checking If Children Actually Attend

Here’s a detail that should make every taxpayer furious.

The Trump administration is ending Biden-era practices of providing child-care centers with payments up front — without verifying attendance.

Read that again. Under Biden, the federal government was sending money to daycare centers without confirming that children actually showed up.

That’s not a welfare program. That’s an invitation to fraud. And based on what we’ve seen in Minnesota, plenty of people accepted the invitation.

Now payments will require verification. You have to prove kids attended before you get paid for caring for them.

The fact that this is controversial tells you everything about how broken the system became.

“It’s Vindictive. It’s Cruel.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul — whose state has its own history of daycare fraud — was outraged.

“It’s vindictive. It’s cruel. And we’ll fight it with every fiber of our being.”

Cruel to whom, exactly? To the fraudsters who’ve been stealing money meant for children? To the fake facilities billing for services they never provide?

Or cruel to actual families — who might finally see funds directed to legitimate programs rather than criminal enterprises?

Hochul didn’t explain. She just called it cruel and moved on.

“This Has Nothing to Do With Fraud”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tried a different approach: pretending fraud doesn’t exist.

“This has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with political retribution that punishes poor children in need of assistance.”

Nothing to do with fraud. Even as federal investigators are going door-to-door in Minneapolis finding empty facilities that billed for millions. Even as Nick Shirley’s videos showed daycare after daycare with no children present. Even as the scandal forced Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid.

Nothing to do with fraud.

This is gaslighting in real time.

“Donald Trump Has Declared War on Colorado”

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet — eyeing a gubernatorial run — went full apocalyptic.

“Donald Trump has declared war on Colorado. He is now robbing thousands of vulnerable Colorado families of the critical support they need to afford food, housing, and health care.”

War. Robbing. Critical support.

The federal government is asking Colorado to prove its childcare programs actually serve children before sending billions of dollars. That’s not war. That’s basic oversight.

If Colorado’s programs are legitimate, the review will confirm that and funding will resume. If they’re riddled with fraud like Minnesota’s, then catching that fraud protects vulnerable families — it doesn’t hurt them.

“Thousands of Parents and Children Depend on These Programs”

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made the emotional appeal: “Thousands of parents and children depend on these child-care programs to help them make ends meet, and now their livelihoods are being put at risk.”

Yes, thousands of families depend on these programs. That’s exactly why ensuring the money actually reaches them matters.

Every dollar stolen by a fake daycare is a dollar that didn’t go to a real family. Every fraudulent facility that stays open is taking resources from legitimate providers.

The freeze isn’t an attack on families. It’s an attack on the criminals who’ve been stealing from families for years.

“It’s a Giant Scam”

Trump laid out the reality on New Year’s Eve.

“California is worse, Illinois is worse, and, sadly, New York is worse. A lot of other places. We’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. It’s a giant scam.”

Minnesota’s $19 billion fraud wasn’t unique. It was just the one that got exposed first. The same weak oversight, the same lack of verification, the same invitation to steal exists in every state that adopted the Biden administration’s pay-first-verify-never approach.

The freeze forces states to prove they’re not Minnesota. That they actually know where the money goes. That children actually receive care.

States with legitimate programs should welcome the review. It clears their name and restores funding.

States fighting the review might have something to hide.

The Pattern Is Clear

Democrats’ response to the fraud scandal has been consistent: deny, deflect, attack.

When Nick Shirley exposed empty daycares, Walz called him a “delusional conspiracy theorist.”

When federal investigators arrived, mayors told them to “get the f**k out.”

When HHS froze funding pending review, governors called it “cruel” and “vindictive.”

At no point has any major Democrat acknowledged the fraud itself or expressed concern about stolen taxpayer dollars. Their entire focus has been protecting the funding stream — regardless of where that funding actually goes.

The Bottom Line

Five states lost access to $10 billion in federal funds. The money stays frozen until they prove compliance with federal requirements.

Democrats call this cruel. The Trump administration calls it accountability.

Somewhere in those five states are families who genuinely need childcare assistance. They’ve been competing for resources with fraudsters who bill for children that don’t exist in facilities that don’t operate.

The freeze is the first step toward making sure real families get real help — instead of watching billions disappear into criminal networks while politicians look the other way.

That’s not cruel. That’s the job the federal government should have been doing all along.