Category: Federal Budget

RFK Jr. Halts Medicaid Funds to Blue States Despite No Proof of Fraud | The New Republic

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Mehmet Oz announced a $1 billion freeze on Medicare and Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota on Tuesday, accusing the states of “suspected fraud and noncompliance.” Kennedy demanded the states provide documentation proving the payments were legitimate but presented no new evidence supporting the fraud allegations, according to Reuters.

The funding freeze follows a pattern of Trump administration officials targeting Democratic-led states with unsubstantiated accusations of widespread public program fraud. In May, the White House blocked $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements for California; last month Trump directed federal agencies to investigate blocking additional California funding; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency held up disaster aid to blue states earlier this year. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently threatened to block federal grants and jail state officials in Democratic states refusing to surrender voter registration data to the administration.

California and Minnesota are expected to challenge the funding cuts in court, where states have previously prevailed in similar disputes. The termination of payments to Democratic states without credible documentation of fraud follows the administration’s broader pattern of weaponizing federal resources against political opponents, as Kennedy has already moved to purge federal health institutions aligned with evidence-based policy.

The Medicaid freeze occurs alongside other administration actions cutting safety net programs. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” slashed food assistance, eliminating SNAP benefits for 4.5 million people, including 1.5 million children, since July 2025. Arizona saw the steepest decline with over 50 percent of its SNAP recipients—more than 440,000 people—dropped from the program in less than a year, with federal officials praising the state for “leading the way” in cutting what the administration characterizes as fraud and waste.

The funding restrictions on Democratic states and cuts to federal benefits demonstrate the administration’s use of federal authority to punish political opponents while dismantling programs protecting vulnerable populations. States challenging these actions will confront an administration unwilling to substantiate its fraud accusations with evidence.



(Source: https://newrepublic.com/post/213335/rfk-jr-halts-medicaid-funds-california-minnesota-no-proof-fraud?fbclid=IwVERDUATM1z1wZG9mBWZkaWQWUK9D1WPZ3x2pxJ1C3SiLuWg7hbLUY2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4LVWXhVRaqodn3njclczLoKR-qXpqfNGVm_vUi6RiM0qc1CaGiwX7UdnWnLQ_aem_PVQGpOuA_mTkTUCEY1xHMQ)willing to substantiate its fraud accusations with evidence.

FCC Officials Took Gifts From Paramount While It Had Business Before Them — ProPublica

FCC officials who voted on Paramount’s merger accepted luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets worth over $260,000 from the company they regulate, violating federal ethics rules that explicitly prohibit gifts from entities with pending business before the agency. FCC Chair Brendan Carr attended the December 2025 gala in a private $125,000 skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison after the company sought FCC approval for its $110 billion merger with Skydance Media, while Commissioner Olivia Trusty received tickets worth $12,000 before casting a decisive vote approving the deal.

Ethics experts, including former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub and former White House ethics lawyer Virginia Canter, said the commissioners violated federal law by accepting gifts from a regulated entity with business pending before them. Shaub stated that “there’s no way that any top federal regulator should ever accept a gift from a regulated company with interests their work will foreseeably affect,” and Canter called the conduct “shocking” and “disturbing.” The experts warned that Carr and Trusty compromised the agency’s impartiality and should have recused themselves from voting on the merger.

Seven of ten FCC commissioners who served since 2016 accepted Kennedy Center tickets from CBS or its parent company, totaling over $260,000 according to ProPublica’s analysis of ethics disclosures. Carr alone has accepted tickets at least seven times since 2017, totaling over $63,000. Federal ethics rules explicitly ban employees from accepting gifts from entities that do business with, are regulated by, or seek official action from their agency, yet the FCC claimed agency ethics officers approved the practice as consistent with law—a justification Shaub dismissed as equivalent to a “school child” excuse.

The timing of the gifts intensified the conflict. Paramount filed its Skydance merger paperwork in September 2024, and the December gala occurred as the company prepared its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Hours after the gala ended, Paramount launched the hostile bid. Trump has systematically pressured the FCC to strip broadcast licenses, and Carr reopened a CBS investigation days after taking office, later requiring Paramount to eliminate diversity initiatives and appoint a bias ombudsperson to secure the merger’s approval.

Multiple ethics experts told ProPublica that the Justice Department should investigate potential violations of federal ethics rules and that the commissioners’ gift-taking could become central in legal challenges to the merger. California, New York and ten other Democratic states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the $110 billion consolidation under federal and state anti-monopoly laws, citing concerns about job elimination and industry independence from consolidated ownership.



(Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/paramount-mergers-fcc-kennedy-center-gala?fbclid=IwdGRleATEdV1wZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKl7HV6hSpBeYhKKEUCD5qTfb1VVhGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5j5tj7vuKcNF4EYkiA-zdtgiNLF39w-xW5ou0h_zK0uZfJ56eQA2uIrEgulg_aem_j4wlCLmUFGCAM_E3ngC6aw)state anti-monopoly laws, citing concerns about job elimination and industry independence from consolidated ownership.

Trump Threatens Unemployment Benefits Cuts in All States

Donald Trump’s administration is threatening to withdraw federal funding for unemployment insurance administration from all 50 states, marking the first time in history the federal government has wielded this weapon against state programs. Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling warned governors in a letter that the administration would withhold administrative funds to combat what it characterizes as “waste, fraud and abuse” in state unemployment systems, despite nearly 2 million Americans currently receiving those benefits and roughly 229,000 filing initial jobless claims weekly.

The threat targets the federal government’s financial support for state administrative costs, which could force state-run unemployment systems to shut down if implemented. Most states provide approximately six months of unemployment payments to qualified workers, funded primarily through state unemployment taxes paid by employers, with federal support covering administrative operations. Without federal backing, the loss of funding would directly harm the delivery of benefits to unemployed Americans who depend on those payments to survive.

Vice President JD Vance leads a task force ostensibly designed to eliminate fraud but operates as part of the administration’s politically motivated assault on Democratic-led states. The same task force already withheld $1.4 billion in federal Medicaid funding after what the White House called “sweeping crackdowns on fraud operations” in California, Minnesota, and other states. Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley directly accused the government’s anti-fraud campaign of targeting vulnerable populations rather than actual fraudsters, cutting “vital funding for services that seniors, people with disabilities, and children rely on to survive.”

The unemployment benefit threat builds on the administration’s broader assault on social programs across multiple agencies. The Department of Agriculture recently threatened to withhold funding from states that fail to provide participant data for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including immigration status information, and the Trump administration attempted to freeze the entire program during last year’s government shutdown by declaring “the well has run dry.” The timing of the unemployment fraud focus follows the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of Americans relied on government assistance during economic upheaval in Trump’s first term.

The administration’s weaponization of federal funding against state programs systematically dismantles the social safety net while disguising cuts as anti-fraud enforcement. By threatening to eliminate federal support for unemployment administration, the Trump administration denies due process and survival resources to millions of working Americans, compounding the authoritarian consolidation of power through institutional capture and the strategic defunding of programs that protect vulnerable populations from destitution.



(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-unemployment-benefits-fraud-b2997881.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcASgSCxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeEMg5UYetR6T_iIYA4AjoE95C5qIIO670RPk_-O8bvIX-sQs7stGHX-Ah5rU_aem_mhSSR11XtDAVg3hK7mDvqQ)

Trump Budget Zeros Out 6,000 Homeless Veterans Housing

President Donald Trump allocated zero dollars in his $2.2 trillion fiscal 2027 budget proposal for a promised Los Angeles facility to house 6,000 homeless veterans, despite signing an executive order last year pledging completion by January 1, 2028. The proposed National Center for Warrior Independence was to be constructed on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus, but Trump's budget included no funding for the housing project.

Trump's administration has required Department of Veterans Affairs officials and local advocates to sign nondisclosure agreements regarding the project, preventing transparency about planning and costs. During a May 13 House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, Republican Chairman Mike Bost demanded answers, stating "Transparency should be a priority, not an option," and Rep. Derrick Van Orden criticized the plan as incomplete, calling it "corruption." The VA delivered its plan to lawmakers eight months behind schedule and could not specify total project costs despite requesting $500 million as an initial payment.

VA officials claimed the department was "hard at work implementing" Trump's order and issued a request for proposals with a June 23 deadline to establish additional housing units. However, testimony revealed that housing capacity at the West LA center increased from 955 to 1,377 beds during Trump's second term, yet none of this growth resulted from his executive order. Trump has never explained the 6,000-veteran figure, which exceeds Los Angeles' total homeless veteran population by approximately double, prompting speculation about plans to relocate veterans from other regions.

Rep. Mark Takano raised concerns that VA staffing cuts have created insufficient personnel to support homeless veterans already at the West LA facility, let alone the promised 6,000 residents. Veterans who secured a federal court order for additional housing at the site have opposed the VA's plan to construct 800 tiny 8-by-8-foot homes there. Takano warned that inadequate support services could turn the property into "a vast West Side skid row," jeopardizing tenant safety and mental health.

In response to congressional criticism, the VA blamed "litigation inherited" by the Trump administration and promised monthly briefings. The department stated it was "reclaiming sections of the campus that had long been irresponsibly leased" to private companies and that "subsequent budget requests will include adding thousands more housing units," offering no commitment to fund the project in the current fiscal year.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-homeless-veterans-housing-budget-b2985273.html)

Trump Officials Assumed USAID Just Did Abortions

Trump administration officials tasked with dismantling USAID in 2025 demonstrated profound ignorance of the agency’s actual functions, according to a new book by Nicholas Enrich, the agency’s acting assistant administrator for global health. During a February 5, 2025 meeting at USAID headquarters, official Joe Borkert and his team admitted they had assumed the agency “just did abortions,” revealing that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting operation DOGE had targeted the organization without understanding its humanitarian mission. Musk had previously called USAID a “criminal organization” and “radical-left political psy op” based on disinformation.

Enrich described to the Trump officials how USAID tackled emerging pandemics, diagnosed and treated tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV, and immunized millions of children against deadly diseases. His explanation prompted stunned silence before Borkert confessed his assumption about the agency’s work. A White House liaison then suggested that drug-resistant tuberculosis was too complex for non-health professionals and proposed simplifying it to “Super TB” and creating maps resembling the film “Outbreak” to visualize disease spread, treating public health crises as entertainment concepts.

When Enrich pressed the importance of USAID’s malaria response efforts, which DOGE had just shut down at the cost of thousands of jobs, even Borkert expressed frustration, saying “just because it might work at Twitter does not mean you can do it here.” Despite this acknowledgment, he ordered the USAID team to implement draconian cuts, retaining only first-priority programs and discarding second, third, and fourth-tier priorities, including lifesaving maternal health interventions designed to prevent pregnancy-related deaths.

Enrich and his colleagues left the meeting deeply disturbed, concluding that the Trump administration officials making decisions with real-world consequences “were not real policymakers, but impostors, sitting in big chairs and pretending to grapple with complex issues that required teams of experts, who they had just off-loaded.” The episode exemplifies the abuse of power and reckless dismantling of critical global health infrastructure driven by ideological cost-cutting rather than informed policy analysis.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-administration-usaid-whistleblower-b2957508.html)

Trump tells DHS to pay TSA despite government shutdown after agents miss another paycheck | The Independent

President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum on Friday directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA employees using undisclosed funds, following weeks of missed paychecks during a partial government shutdown. The directive covers approximately 50,000 security officers at airports and came after a six-week funding lapse that has caused excruciatingly long security lines and prompted nearly 500 TSA agents to quit while thousands more called out sick at record rates. Trump framed the action as necessary to address an “emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security,” though the source of the funds remains unclear.

The shutdown resulted from Democratic refusal to fund DHS until the Trump administration agrees to reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Trump rejected a Senate bill passed Friday morning that would have funded most DHS functions, including TSA, because it excluded ICE and CBP funding. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated Democrats would not provide funding without reforms, calling the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics “lawless and deadly.”

Trump’s memorandum blamed Democrats for the shutdown while emphasizing security vulnerabilities created by depleted TSA staffing and wait times exceeding three hours at some airports. DHS announced that TSA employees would begin receiving pay as soon as Monday. The administration has faced criticism for its aggressive immigration crackdown, including a January incident in Minneapolis where immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, which the administration characterized as self-defense.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-pay-tsa-shutdown-b2947422.html)

USDA Sells South Building, Scatters Staff Nationwide

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to sell its flagship South Building on Washington’s National Mall and relocate remaining staff to regional hubs in North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Colorado, and Utah by year’s end. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the 1930s-era building as “a shell of what it once was,” citing $1.6 billion in delinquent maintenance costs and approximately 80% office vacancy rates, according to GSA Administrator Edward Forst.

The sale is framed as a cost-cutting measure under Republican President Donald Trump’s broader push to downsize the federal government. However, thousands of USDA employees have already departed through buyout programs as the administration dismantles the agency’s workforce and institutional capacity.

The building will be transferred to the General Services Administration for sale, with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst displaying a “For Sale By Owner” sign during the announcement. This disposal of a historic federal property reflects the administration’s agenda to strip down government operations and eliminate institutional presence in the nation’s capital.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-selling-its-flagship-south-building-washington-relocating-staff-2026-02-25/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=699fb068781ea000015a4217&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleAQNyFxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEehS9gM5eu0uQrXX6WzQUEG50zlvWA7TTJIpkxBzU7CsYspzuboaAdlIWlqMI_aem_0ubKb2BcEiwMxC9E186dlA)

Trump Withholds $16B Gateway Funding Unless Hubs Named After Him

President Donald Trump conditioned the release of over $16 billion in frozen federal funding for New York’s Gateway Tunnel project on Senator Chuck Schumer’s agreement to rename Penn Station and Dulles International Airport after Trump, according to Punchbowl News. Schumer rejected the demand, stating he lacked authority to rename the transportation hubs. This follows Trump’s pattern of demanding Penn Station and other infrastructure be renamed after himself in exchange for federal resources.

Trump has leveraged his position to encourage Republicans and allies to rename the Kennedy Center, a fleet of battleships, and the Institute of Peace in his honor since returning to office. By conditioning critical infrastructure funding on naming concessions, Trump has weaponized federal resources to advance personal branding. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand characterized the demand as Trump prioritizing “his own narcissism over the good-paying union jobs” the Gateway Project provides and called for the immediate unfreezing of all withheld projects.

Trump froze Gateway and Second Avenue subway funding in October under the pretext of reviewing DEI policy compliance, but officials warned the projects were rapidly depleting remaining resources. New York Representative Jerry Nadler labeled Trump’s naming condition as “extortion” and demanded immediate funding release. The Gateway Project’s oversight group filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the administration to release millions in construction payments as funding deadlines approached.

Democratic lawmakers condemned Trump’s extortion attempt as evidence of egregious abuse of executive authority. California Representative Eric Swalwell and Maryland Representative April McClain Delaney criticized the demand as demonstrating a complete lack of leadership on infrastructure competitiveness and national security. Governor Kathy Hochul’s office responded with an AI-generated image renaming Trump Tower to “Hochul Tower,” mocking the president’s narcissism.

Trump’s pattern of converting federal infrastructure into personal brand assets violates the public trust and institutional norms governing federal funding allocation. By withholding critical transportation upgrades unless officials agree to personalize federal property, Trump subordinates national infrastructure priorities to his self-enrichment agenda, demonstrating the systematic institutional capture characteristic of his authoritarian governance.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-penn-station-rename-funding-b2915414.html)

Trump Claims States Are Federal Agents in Elections

President Trump declared on Tuesday that states function as “agents for the federal government in elections,” advancing his push to federalize election administration. During an Oval Office signing ceremony, Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the federal government should take over elections from states he deemed incapable of running them honestly, specifically naming Atlanta and other Democratic-led cities as sites of “horrible corruption.” Trump’s assertion contradicts the Constitution, which assigns election administration to state and local officials with limited federal involvement.

Trump framed federal takeover as necessary to ensure honest elections, stating that if states “can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.” When pressed by Collins on constitutional constraints, Trump dismissed them, declaring states “can administer the election, but they have to do it honestly.” This demand for federal control extends Trump’s pattern of weaponizing federal authority against election officials, mirroring his sustained efforts to delegitimize the 2020 election and intimidate state administrators into compliance with his directives.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reframed Trump’s “nationalize the voting” language as advocacy for the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration. However, noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections, making the legislation redundant. The move represents Trump’s broader strategy to impose new voting restrictions ahead of midterm elections under the guise of election security.

The statement follows an FBI seizure last week of election materials from Fulton County, Georgia, in connection with alleged voter fraud claims that have been repeatedly debunked. Legal experts, including UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, characterized such federal intervention as a dramatic escalation in federal control over state-run election infrastructure and warned of further interference in 2026 elections. Trump’s repeated false claims of election fraud and his push for federal dominance over election administration establish the groundwork for authoritarian control over voting mechanisms.

Trump’s assertion that states are federal agents in elections directly contradicts established constitutional law and democratic practice. His pattern of attacking election officials who refuse his demands, combined with federal actions targeting state election materials, demonstrates his intent to consolidate power over election administration and establish federal override of state election systems, dismantling the institutional safeguards that protect democratic elections from executive manipulation.

(Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/03/politics/trump-nationalize-elections-states?Date=20260204&Profile=CNN+Politics&utm_content=1770166729&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAPxrotleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe_TP6JxjJ8F0XeylqLLR_PnMmKiHjepIwMfFSOkoZjpuKIlcOuE0eA99g3Kc_aem_XKBW8wXEdeRvaH0xj02M9A)

Trump Illegally Cuts Funding to Blue States

President Donald Trump announced February 1 as the date he will begin withholding all federal funding from sanctuary cities and states with sanctuary jurisdictions, claiming they “protect criminals at the expense of American citizens.” The Bay Area faces potential losses in the billions of dollars that fund emergency management, child support, and human services; San Francisco alone could lose nearly $1 billion annually, representing 6% of its general fund based on fiscal year 2025 figures.

California operates as a sanctuary state by law, with state and local law enforcement generally limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents. State leaders argue the federal government lacks authority to compel local officers to enforce federal immigration law. Trump’s previous threats to withhold federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions have already been declared unlawful by courts during both his first and second terms.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated he will file suit immediately if the cuts proceed, declaring “We will go to court within seconds, and we will win if he does this, it’s already proven unlawful.” Bonta expressed anger at what he characterized as Trump’s attack on California’s residents, state, and values, while San Francisco and other cities have successfully litigated this identical issue in prior litigation.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee countered that the city’s sanctuary policies enable residents to report crimes and access services without fear, and stated no federal threats would alter that commitment. The White House provided no specific executive order or actionable directive when asked about the funding mechanism, instead referring only to Trump’s public remarks made at a Detroit economic club event.

(Source: https://abc7news.com/post/bay-area-could-lose-billions-trump-cuts-funding-sanctuary-cities-attorney-general-rob-bonta-says-unlawful/18401281/?ex_cid=TA_KGO_FB&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook)

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