It’s a very small first step for normal people who would like to see actual accountability. It shouldn’t feel like a giant leap for the federal government to not waste taxpayer money if they suspect fraud.

The size and scale of the daycare fraud situation that is alleged to be happening in Minnesota needs to be investigated. Local media has been shockingly disinterested in what has been happening at these daycare facilities, and when they got embarrassed by Nick Shirley showing up with questions and a camera, one Minnesota Star Tribune reporter, Deena Winter, started “asking questions” about just who Nick Shirley had with him in these videos, instead of actually investigating the care facilities themselves. And when she got called out, she deleted her own X account. But apparently this is a tactic she has used before.

She does this every-time she gets ratioed to oblivion.

Deena will be back next year.

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) December 31, 2025

So, aside from local journalists who are aiming for the “Brave Sir Robin Reporting Award,” how are the national media responding to the allegations of waste and fraud? Well, let’s check in with Josh Gerstein, the senior legal affairs reporter at Politico.

Stand your ground isn’t castle doctrine, and castle doctrine doesn’t apply to someone just knocking on your door in a peaceful manner.

But we have arrived at journos fantasizing about killing people who uncover welfare fraud. https://t.co/51a6XIRwPK

— Sunny (@sunnyright) December 30, 2025

Yeah, this is going well.

Scott Jennings: Tim Walz is calling efforts to investigate fraud “white supremacy”

CNN panel: *Explodes* “No he has not said that”

Video of Tim Walz saying efforts to investigate fraud are akin to white supremacy
pic.twitter.com/qpCOjQ1Upr

— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) December 31, 2025

To sum things up, we have a citizen journalist who went viral for reporting from the ground, a disinterested local media, a disdainful national media, an idiot governor who was within reach of the vice presidency just a little over a year ago, and billions in taxpayer dollars allegedly being wasted and funding shell organizations that are pocketing the cash meant for daycare services or autism services.

Oh, and we have American citizens looking at these viral videos and saying, “something is rotten in the state of Minnesota – why can’t anyone actually STOP it?”

At last, a small first step has been taking toward stopping the fraud.

“We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota,” Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary Jim O’Neill wrote on X Tuesday afternoon, days after a viral video investigating alleged fraud at day care centers in the state drew national attention.

Minnesota has received $185 million in childcare payments from the Trump administration this year, according to Alex Adams, assistant secretary of HHS’ Administration for Children and Families.

The “funds will be released only when states prove they are being spent legitimately,” the HHS secretary said.

O’Neill said Minnesota has “funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade,” and outlined three actions the department has taken in an attempt to cut off the flow of exploitable funds.

That post on X lists off the three things that HHS says it will be doing.

1. I have activated our defend the spend system for all ACF payments. Starting today, all ACF payments across America will require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence before we send money to a state.

2. Alex Adams and I have identified the individuals in @nickshirleyy’s excellent work. I have demanded from @GovTimWalz a comprehensive audit of these centers. This includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations, and inspections.

3. We have launched a dedicated fraud-reporting hotline and email address at https://childcare.gov Whether you are a parent, provider, or member of the general public, we want to hear from you.

HHS did not waste any time. As of Tuesday night, the Administration for Children and Families website has a bright red banner running on top of its homepage, saying “Click Here To Report Child Care Fraud,” which leads to an information page with an email in order to make a report, and information on how to file reports at the state level – for every single state.

Will the financial freeze stand? Or will the activist judge class step in, as they have attempted to do so many times in the past year?

President Boasberg will order the money be released before the week is up. https://t.co/YAtZURWIGr

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 31, 2025

And everyone had better be prepared for other states to have their funding frozen as well, for the exact same reasons. Washington state, you’re going to be next.

In a now viral video, Kristen Mag posted on social media, “There are 539 childcare centers in Washington state that list Somali as the primary language. Most don’t even give a street address. I don’t know how many of these are submitting fraudulent claims for state grants and subsidies, but I have a strong hunch the number is not zero.” She added, “The same search tool shows a total of 5046 childcare centers in WA state. So over 10% of childcare centers in the state list Somali as the primary language. And most are concentrated in the Seattle/Tacoma/Western WA region. Seems high. I’d say it’s fair to be skeptical,” noting, “I’m only scrolling through the A’s in my video.”

The news comes on the heels of revelations that a Somali candidate for King County Council in Washington state, who previously threatened to blow up a school bus full of children and was later arrested for allegedly assaulting parents at a school drop-off, received campaign donations from daycare businesses in Minnesota.

The fraud that is being uncovered may only be the tip of the iceberg, but the American taxpayer should not have their money vanish in a scam designed to line the pockets of anyone not actually doing the work for which they are being paid. The wasteful spending HAS to stop. The federal government putting a freeze on childcare payments is a necessary step, but it’s just a small step. The requested audits and incoming fraud reports from the public are also important steps. But it needs to become politically radioactive to excuse away any kind of fraud, and that rests with the voters. Just how loud and insistent are voters going to be about this – and will they demand accountability for where the money went?

Featured image via Gunjan2021 on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license