Vice President JD Vance vaguely responded to a major concern about the frozen Medicaid payments during a recent press conference at the White House. Popular CNN host Kaitlan Collins pressed him on the bombshell announcement, prompting his response.
Vance said the Trump administration would reportedly be withholding about $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota. According to the Star Tribune, this would affect nearly 1.3 million people in Minnesota. Many of them depend on these funds for health care services.
Dr Oz, with Vance standing behind him, announces that “we’re going to for the first time take a massive action to defer funds to a state,” then details they are defending $259m of funding for Medicaid programs in Minnesota that take care of pregnant women, seniors, and people… pic.twitter.com/OUAowwuA8S
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2026
The move would also impact Minnesota’s overall health care system. Those seeking treatment for serious illnesses could be greatly affected by the funding freeze. Vance explained the move, saying it was done “to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its duty seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.”
Vance made the statement alongside the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Reporters at the White House quickly questioned the move, seeking to understand the reasoning behind it. Collins did not miss the opportunity to ask Vance to further explain the Trump White House’s decision.
Collins mentioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and asked, “What exactly is the condition he (Walz) needs to meet for this funding to be released back into the state?” Vance appeared nervous while answering her question and paused before responding.
Vice President JD Vance announced that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds for Minnesota won’t be reimbursed pending investigation — along with a national pause on firms that can seek subsidies through Medicare for durable medical equipment like canes and walkers. pic.twitter.com/nQcXIAhUWQ
— New York Post (@nypost) February 26, 2026
J.D. Vance claimed that the answer to her question was “pretty simple.” He explained, “What we want to see…is some affirmative steps to make sure that the people who are billing us for Medicaid services are actually providing us those Medicaid services.”
The vice president continued to cite fraud as a main reason for taking such a drastic step. He mentioned that there were allegedly millions or “billions” of people saying they’ve received treatment, but there is a lack of solid evidence supporting those claims.
Similarly, there is little proof to verify whether those services were actually carried out. More specifically, what Vance and the Trump administration want to see is a “follow-up from the Minnesota government.” Essentially, they want to avoid more cases of fraud. However, Tim Walz does not believe the Medicaid and Medicare budget freeze is related to fraud.
Shortly after Kaitlan Collins and Vance’s exchange, Walz shared his thoughts on the matter and slammed Donald Trump and his administration’s decision on X. As mentioned earlier, Walz was not convinced by the reasoning behind the funding freeze. In his statement on X, Walz also referenced the recent anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests and related incidents in Minneapolis.
This has nothing to do with fraud.
The agents Trump allegedly sent to investigate fraud are shooting protesters and arresting children. His DOJ is gutting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and crippling their ability to prosecute fraud. And every week Trump pardons another fraudster. https://t.co/DKRDgBykRu
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) February 25, 2026
He wrote, “The agents Trump sent to allegedly investigate fraud are shooting protestors and arresting children…” It wasn’t just Walz who disagreed with the decision to stop funding. Many critics flooded the social media platform. They agreed with Walz’s remarks that Trump was allegedly avoiding the real issue.
Many have also raised concerns about people who rely on these services. They worry about the impact on those who depend on them for their health. Critics, like Walz, condemned Vance’s announcement. And are hoping for a change soon.
The big question remains. Will Walz agree to submit a full solution to tackle the alleged fraud problem? Or will many Minnesotans have to suffer the brunt of the announcement? That is yet to be seen. The White House has not made any further comment about the matter.
