The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has backed down from a $10 billion freeze on child care subsidies and social services funding that had been imposed on five states led by Democratic governors, according to court records made public Monday.
Federal officials notified California, Illinois, Colorado, New York, and Minnesota that letters sent on January 5 and January 6 — along with all data requests and information requirements tied to those letters — were being rescinded.
A legal filing released Monday included the official communication, which stated that the enforcement mechanism used to impose the temporary funding restrictions had been shut down.
The reversal follows a federal judge’s earlier decision to block the freeze while a lawsuit brought by the affected states worked its way through the courts.
The funding freeze was part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration threatening to withhold federal money from universities, research institutions, and states over a variety of issues. Those issues have included allegations of fraud, climate-related programs, diversity initiatives, transgender policies, and demonstrations in support of Palestinians amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Civil rights advocates have argued that such funding threats infringe on free speech and due process protections.
