Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Dr. Mehmet Oz announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration is temporarily halting $259 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over concerns about rampant welfare fraud.
Vance and Oz made the announcement during a joint press conference in which they explained that the funding freeze would apply to federal matching funds for Minnesota’s health care program for low-income residents. It comes after a recent audit of the state’s spending.
Vance, who President Donald Trump tapped to lead a national “war on fraud,” said the freeze ensures “the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax dollars.”
The vice president explained that “the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American people.”
JD Vance: "We're announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that is going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people's tax… pic.twitter.com/ccmOZlpBR5
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2026
Minnesota came under scrutiny months ago when it was revealed that fraudsters had bilked its Medicaid-funded services like day care, autism therapy, and housing aid, of billions of dollars, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The DHS report cited a “too trusting mindset” and a system “biased toward facilitating payments — rather than safeguarding funds” as primary factors contributing to the rampant fraud occurring in the state.
Dr. Oz addressed the issue during an appearance on Chris Cuomo’s podcast. He explained his department had tried to work with Minnesota for months. He noted that he sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz saying “You have to provide me a corrective action plan so our government can judge if you’re serious about taking on these issues that have been raised for years.”
Today on @ChrisCuomo Mornings, @DrOz joined the show and gave a detailed breakdown on the Medicaid funding freeze for Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/tu2htAQuUw
— SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S. (@siriusxmpotus) February 26, 2026
He described Minnesota’s response to the letter as “inadequate” and that “you would not have felt that they were as sincere as they needed to be.”
Minnesota is one of several blue states the White House is investigating. The administration is also auditing California, Colorado, and New York.