JD Vance claims withholding $260M from Minnesota ‘helps kids,’ but the real reason raises serious questions

Vice President JD Vance announced that President Donald Trump will “temporarily halt” $259.5 million in federal Medicaid funds for Minnesota. The move targets alleged fraud within the state’s Medicaid system, which President Trump also highlighted during his recent State of the Union address.

According to Mediate, Vance made the announcement at a news conference alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, who serves as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This action follows Trump’s declaration on Tuesday that Vance would lead the administration’s “war on fraud.”

Vance said the funds are being withheld “in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.” He added that the administration is “stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that is being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.”

The administration is confident this move targets fraud, not the people who need care

At the same news conference, Dr. Oz announced a separate nationwide initiative; a six-month moratorium on Medicare enrollment for medical equipment suppliers. This covers items like durable medical equipment, prosthetics, and orthotics. Oz said the measure will be “effective, and it’s not going to touch the people who need these services.”

When asked whether withholding the funds would hurt Minnesotans, especially children, Vance pushed back. Vance, who has previously made headlines for his parenting views and family moments, dismissed the idea that the move would harm kids. 

“The fact that we have so normalized this and the fact that I guarantee there are going to be voices in the media, there are going to be voices in the state of Minnesota who say this is hurting children. No, it’s hurting fraudsters,” he said.

Vance added that “the way to protect kids is to go after those fraudsters, which is what we’re doing.” The fraud allegations in Minnesota gained wide attention after a viral video by YouTuber Nick Shirley focused on daycare centers in the state. 

The video received strong support from backers of the MAGA movement. President Trump cited these allegations as justification for his “Operation Metro Surge,” a large-scale immigration enforcement operation that led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens.

During his State of the Union address, Trump claimed the fraud was being carried out by “Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota,” and said his administration, with Vance leading the effort, would address the issue directly. Vance has also been at the center of other light-hearted moments in the White House, including joking about paying for unflattering colleague photos amid reported tensions within Trump’s team.