Judge Stops Trump from Blocking Child Care Money for Five States

A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot block federal funding for child care subsidies and other programs supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states, at least for now, Geoff Mulvihill and Hannah Schoenbaum reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The affected programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Social Services Block Grant.

California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York argued that a policy announced Tuesday freezing billions of dollars for three grant programs was having an immediate impact and causing “operational chaos.”

The states said the federal government lacked a legal basis to withhold the funds.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it paused funding because it had “reason to believe” the states were providing benefits to people in the country illegally, though it offered no evidence and did not explain why only those states were targeted.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, did not rule on the legality of the freeze but said the states met the legal threshold to preserve the status quo for at least 14 days while the case proceeds.

The affected programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, which helps subsidize care for 1.3 million children; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which provides cash aid and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant.

The five states say they receive more than $10 billion annually from the programs.