President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the Supreme Court and federal court judges after they ruled against his effort to freeze $10 billion in funding to blue states.
The president in December announced that his administration was freezing funding to Minnesota after widespread welfare fraud was exposed in the state. In early January, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent letters to five blue states announcing a temporary freeze on funding for child care and social service funding.
During a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump told reporters about how people discovered the rampant waste and fraud occurring in Minnesota. “I just saw something that the nursing home business and the daycare centers in particular, they went out and inspected them in Minnesota, and they didn't exist,” he said. “They're knocking on door, happens to be a young man, Nick [Shirley], nice young man. He's done a very good job. They're knocking on doors. It's like homes. And they're getting hundreds of thousands…they didn't exist.”
And in California, it's worse. It's even worse. And I spoke with Russell Vought. I said, ‘Russell, don't send him any money.’ He said, ‘but we have a court order that we have.’ Can you believe it? A judge. The judges are really hurting this country. Our judges. Justice Roberts doesn't like when I say it, but the judges are really hurting this country. And frankly, the justices, the Supreme Court has really hurt our country, too.
President Donald Trump rips into the Supreme Court after it ruled against his effort to freeze $10 billion in federal child care and social service funding to blue states.
— Jeff Charles, Asker of Questions🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) March 26, 2026
"The justices, the Supreme Court has really hurt our country, too." pic.twitter.com/EXy1oQECV5
In Minnesota, several individuals ran scams to obtain federal funding through welfare programs aimed at helping disadvantaged children. They set up fake daycares and falsely claimed they were taking care of children. Then, they pocketed the money they received for this purpose. Some used the money for personal luxury expenses. In at least one case, they sent money to a radical Islamic terrorist group in Somalia.
The states filed a lawsuit alleging that the administration did not have legitimate justification for freezing the funding. They claimed the White House provided no evidence of widespread fraud in four of the states targeted.
A lower court blocked the administration’s move while the matter was litigated in court.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Supreme Court. When it struck down most of his sweeping global tariffs, he accused them of being “fools,” “lapdogs,” and a “disgrace to our nation.” He said he was “ashamed” of them for not having the courage to back his agenda.
The president also claimed the Supreme Court had become “weaponized” and said, “Democrats on the court always stick together.”