President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that a federal investigation into alleged fraud in California has begun, signaling a widening crackdown after similar revelations of systemic abuse in Minnesota’s state-run childcare programs.
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, using a mocking version of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s name. “The fraud investigation of California has begun.”
Trump did not immediately provide details about the scope of the California probe, but the declaration comes less than 24 hours after his administration froze all federal childcare payments to Minnesota amid reports that Somali-run daycare and healthcare operators stole more than $9 billion in taxpayer funds.
The president’s new statement marks the first time California has been formally linked to the widening federal effort to track down fraudulent spending in social programs. His comments follow a series of public warnings to Democratic governors he accuses of mismanaging state welfare systems.
