The new year has just begun, and Donald Trump is already taking out retribution on his perceived political enemies. Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it would freeze $10 billion in childcare funding for five Democratic-led states. The funding cuts put critical programs that support hundreds of thousands of low-income households in these states at risk.

A reminder: This isn’t the first time Trump has enacted a funding freeze that disrupted child care and critical health care services for families in need.

In response, DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman released the following statement: 

“Once again, working families are being used as pawns in Donald Trump’s vindictive retribution tour — even if it means going after kids. Families are already struggling to afford the basics under Trump’s failed economy, and now, hundreds of thousands of families could be left stranded without access to affordable child care just because of where they live. Democrats won’t stop standing up for our kids and fighting to lower costs for working families across the country, regardless of which zipcode they live in.” 

Read more below: 

New York Times: Health Dept. Freezes $10 Billion in Funding to 5 Democratic States

By Minho Kim 

• The Trump administration on Tuesday froze $10 billion in funding for child care subsidies, social services and cash support for low-income families in five states controlled by Democrats, claiming without evidence widespread fraud throughout those states after a major welfare fraud scheme in one of them.

• Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado will be cut off from around $7.3 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households with children, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. 

• The five states will also lose access to nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund, which supports child care for working parents, and around $870 million for social services grants that mostly benefit children at risk.

• The funding pause could jeopardize programs that serve hundreds of thousands of low-income households in the five states.

• The freeze is the latest in the Trump administration’s pattern of interrupting federal dollars to Democratic-run cities and states, leveraging disbursement of congressionally approved funding to punish perceived enemies and political opponents.

• During the government shutdown last year, the administration froze or canceled more than 200 projects that primarily were located in Democratic cities, congressional districts and states. 

• The administration also cut federal disaster preparedness funds for the District of Columbia and 11 blue states after they opposed Mr. Trump’s mass deportation campaign, though a federal judge later ordered the funding restored.