A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot stop federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at helping needy children and their families from flowing to five Democratic-led states.
The states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York argued that a policy announced Tuesday to freeze funds for three grant programs had an immediate impact on them and created “operational chaos.” In court filings and at a hearing earlier Friday, the states argued the government had no legal reason to withhold the states’ money.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was withholding funding because it had “reason to believe” that states were illegally providing benefits to people living in the country, although it did not provide evidence or explain why it targeted those states and not others.
These are the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes the care of children from low-income families; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller fund that provides money for a variety of programs.
The five states report receiving a total of more than $10 billion per year from these programs.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden, did not rule on the legality of the funding freeze, but he said the five states had met a legal threshold “to protect the status quo” for at least 14 days while arguments were presented in court.
The government had requested extensive data from the five states, including the names and Social Security numbers of everyone who has benefited from certain programs since 2022.
The states argue that the effort is unconstitutional and aimed at going after Trump’s political opponents rather than rooting out fraud in government programs — something the states say they already do.
Jessica Ranucci, an attorney in the New York attorney general’s office, said during Friday’s hearing, which was conducted by telephone, that at least four of the states had already seen their money delayed after requesting it. She said if states can’t secure funding for child care, there will be immediate uncertainty for providers and families who rely on these programs.
A lawyer for the federal government, Kamika Shaw, said it was her understanding that the money had not stopped flowing to the states.
