President Donald Trump kicked off his New Year’s Eve celebration Wednesday night with a fiery denunciation of alleged fraud in Minnesota, telling guests at Mar-a-Lago that the case represents what he called “a giant scam” and promising that his administration will recover taxpayer dollars he says were stolen.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump launched into an unscripted rant about the scope of the alleged fraud, focusing first on Minnesota before broadening his criticism to other Democratic-led states.
“They stole 18 billion dollars!” Trump said, referring to Minnesota. “That’s just what we’re learning about. That’s peanuts.” The president went on to suggest that even more fraud remains undiscovered, not just in Minnesota but across the country.
“And California is worse. Illinois is worse. And sadly New York is worse. A lot of other places,” Trump said. He framed the revelations as a strange source of optimism heading into the new year, arguing that uncovering the fraud gives his administration the chance to act.
“So, we’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. It was a giant scam,” Trump said. “Other than that, we’re going to have a great New Year. Actually, I view that as a reason for a good New Year because we’re going to get to the bottom of it — we’re going to get that money back. It’s all coming back.”
Trump’s remarks came just hours after the Department of Health and Human Services signaled a sweeping response to fraud concerns. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Wednesday that the administration would freeze federal child-care funding nationwide until states can prove the money is being spent legitimately.
That announcement followed Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill’s decision on Tuesday to freeze all federal child-care payments to Minnesota specifically, citing serious concerns about misuse of funds.
The administration’s intensified focus on Minnesota and alleged fraud more broadly was fueled in part by a viral investigation from independent influencer Nick Shirley. His video, which spread rapidly online last week, drew praise from figures on the right, including Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk.
In the video, Shirley and his team visited multiple Minnesota child-care centers during the workweek and claimed they found several facilities closed or nonoperational. Shirley accused Minnesota officials of overseeing a system that allowed taxpayer money to flow to empty or inactive day-care centers. He specifically targeted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, alleging that roughly $110 million in public funds had been used to support centers that were not actually providing care.
O’Neill cited Shirley’s reporting directly when announcing the Minnesota freeze. “Alex Adams and I have identified the individuals in @nickshirleyy’s excellent work,” O’Neill wrote on X. “I have demanded from @GovTimWalz a comprehensive audit of these centers.”
Walz pushed back forcefully, accusing Trump of exploiting the issue for political purposes. In a post on X, the Democratic governor said his administration has spent years addressing fraud and argued that the president’s actions are part of a broader strategy.
“This is Trump’s long game,” Walz wrote. “We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue — but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.”
Trump, however, made clear in his New Year’s Eve remarks that he sees the fraud allegations as validation of his approach to oversight and accountability. By spotlighting Minnesota and other blue states, the president signaled that rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse will remain a major priority heading into the new year — and that he intends to make good on his promise to claw back what he says was taken from American taxpayers.
