❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump announced that a fraud investigation into California has begun, citing corruption under Governor Gavin Newsom (D).
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, Gov. Newsom, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
📍WHEN & WHERE: Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, with the investigation involving multiple Democrat-led states.
💬KEY QUOTE: “California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The Trump administration is moving to freeze $10 billion in welfare funding from five Democratic-led states over fraud concerns.
President Donald J. Trump has announced that his administration has launched an investigation into allegations of fraud in California, contending that the state, under Governor Gavin Newsom (D), is “more corrupt than Minnesota.” In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, President Trump stated, “California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.”
On Monday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) abandoned his reelection bid amid a growing scandal involving widespread fraud linked to the Somali community and rising pressure from fellow Democrats. Federal prosecutors have estimated that over $9 billion in taxpayer dollars may have been stolen through social services fraud in the state.
Newsom is widely considered one of the more prominent contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, and he has tried to position himself as a partisan foil to President Trump over the last year. While the California governor scored a key victory in November of last year with the adoption of Proposition 50—a constitutional amendment passed by voters that temporarily suspends the state’s redistricting commission, allowing the legislature to redraw district lines—Newsom has also faced several political setbacks involving public corruption and illegal immigration.
Late last year, Dana Williamson, who served as Newsom‘s chief of staff until December 2024, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with public corruption. The charges, part of a federal indictment, accuse Williamson and her co-conspirators of engaging in a scheme involving wire and bank fraud. Additionally, the Newsom administration was forced to admit it had unlawfully issued commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to an estimated 17,000 illegal immigrants, and subsequently moved to revoke the permits after facing pressure from the Trump White House.
The Trump administration moved to freeze $10 billion in welfare funding on Monday for five Democratic-led states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—due to concerns over fraud. Programs affected include the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.
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