It has also moved to audit the state’s Medicaid billing and is freezing funds for other programs in five Democrat-led states as it investigates additional potential fraud. Relatedly, the federal government also made about $162 billion in improper payments across 68 programs in fiscal year 2024, according to the GAO’s review of a small subset of federal programs. Some agencies, along with the GOP-led Congress, have also sought to increase verification requirements for federal benefits. Child care: An estimated 3.6% of payments from the Child Care and Development Fund grant program were improper in 2023, according to a report from the Office of Child Care’s National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability. Trump officials signaled to states at the time that the reason for updating the rule was to give states more flexibility and lower their costs.

Source: CNN January 10, 2026 15:34 UTC