RFK Jr. says Democrat-run states at center of funding freeze "refuse to cooperate" to end fraud

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he froze $10 billion in federal funding to five Democrat-led states because they wouldn't show the Trump administration plans for eliminating fraud. 

"The best way to help poor families is to end the fraud," he told CBS News in an interview Wednesay, saying that the five states — Minnesota, California, New York, Illinois and Colorado — were impacted not because they're run by Democrats, but because they "refuse to cooperate with developing plans that would end the fraud."

HHS announced on Tuesday that it's halting $10 billion in federal funding for social services programs in those five states, citing allegations of fraud. The decision came on the heels of the agency's decision to freeze child care funding for Minnesota because of widespread fraud, which you can read more about here. The Trump administration has yet to put forth evidence on sweeping social service fraud schemes in New York, Illinois, Colorado or California – though President Trump did say on TruthSocial Tuesday, without providing additional detail, that "the fraud investigation of California has begun."

"We gave them a warning," RFK Jr. said of the five states, claiming that the administration told them they wouldn't cut funding if they presented a plan for handling fraud. "But if you won't show us a plan, a workable plan, we're gonna cut it off until you do," he said.

When asked how long the funding will be cut off, RFK Jr. replied, "That's up to them."