HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pulling the plug on over $1 billion in Medicaid funding to two blue states due to concerns over fraud.
RFK Jr. says that California and Minnesota will not receive another single, taxpayer dollar until they can prove that there is no fraud happening.
Fox News reported:
“If Governor Gavin Newsom or Governor Tim Walz wants this funding released, all they have to do is provide basic documentation showing that these services are legitimate and not fraudulent. And that’s common sense,” Kennedy said Tuesday during a press conference on the announcement.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is withholding roughly $867 million from California and more than $200 million from Minnesota while federal officials review what they described as high-risk Medicaid claims and documentation deficiencies.
Kennedy said the Trump administration is using artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and traditional financial reviews to identify suspicious spending, adding that states seeking federal Medicaid funding must demonstrate the payments comply with federal law.
“We are not sending Medicaid and Medicare dollars out the door until we have confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately,” Kennedy said.
Watch what RFK Jr. had to say during his press conference here:
Here’s a slightly longer clip:
🚨 BREAKING: HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has just FROZEN over $1 billion in Medicaid dollars to Democrat-run California and Minnesota because of rampant fraud
GOOD! FAFO! 🔥
"CMS is PAUSING over $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and to Minnesota because… pic.twitter.com/yO5QarztxV
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 21, 2026
This move is long overdue!
RFK Jr. is being praised on social media for the decision:
Great work by RFK Jr. 👏👏
Newsome and Walz are having a meltdown today. They deserve it. Cut them right off! 👍— KelseaPark (@KELSEAAPARK) July 21, 2026
Just keep drying up their wells – they will go home when there is no more money to be had or go to the next welfare state.
— adriana (@adriana16362329) July 21, 2026
Now arrest the leaders of these states and cities that were in on it!
— Java (@L70331133) July 21, 2026
RFK Jr.’s freeze on Medicaid funds comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to crack down on rampant fraud and waste across the country.
Already, hundreds of individuals have been arrested for fraud.
The New York Post noted:
Just a month ago, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced 455 people were charged for $6.5 billion in healthcare fraud schemes.
The feds say this was the “greatest combined federal and state effort in combating health care fraud in history,” charging individuals who used taxpayer-funded programs to pay for lux lifestyles.


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