Judge halts Trump freeze on child care funding after suit by Bonta, 4 states

A federal judge on Friday night temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing more than $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funding, granting a request by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and attorneys general from four other Democratic-led states.

The temporary restraining order halted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from withholding funds already appropriated by Congress, including an estimated $5 billion for California, according to the Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.

Bonta had announced the multistate federal lawsuit Thursday, warning the funding freeze would cause “irreparable harm” in the Democratic-led states. California joined New York, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado in the federal suit, which stemmed from three letters sent Tuesday by HHS to Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state leaders triggering the funding freeze.

On Friday night, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who was nominated to the bench by former President Joe Biden, did not rule on the legality of the freeze but said the five states had met the legal threshold “to protect the status quo” for at least two weeks while arguments are made in court.

“Across the five Democratic-led states that the Trump administration has targeted, it has frozen a staggering $10 billion worth of funding — $5 billion of that funding is for California,” Bonta said in a Thursday night news conference. “So about half of the $10 billion is for California programs that serve millions of Californians, including $1.4 billion in child care funding.”

“This is Trump with no basis, with no facts, with no evidence, going after Democratic-led states,” he added at the Sacramento news conference.

In the letters, HHS claimed it had “reason to believe” there was a “potential for extensive and systemic fraud” in California’s administration of federally funded child care and other social services programs. The department also alleged, without evidence, that the state might have been providing benefits to undocumented immigrants.

The funding freeze affects three major programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care and Development Fund and the Social Services Block Grant. Bonta said the money also supports child welfare and foster services, housing stability, job training, food assistance and services for seniors and people with disabilities.

The letters did not cite specific instances of fraud. Bonta rejected the allegations as unsubstantiated and said the states were targeted solely because of their political leadership.

“They cited zero, no evidence at all,” he said. “ They cited no legitimate authority to freeze funds our state is owed that have already been congressionally appropriated to our states.”

The lawsuit argues the freeze violated federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional limits on executive power and how Congress appropriates funds. It also challenges the agency’s demands that states turn over years of program records, including personally identifiable information, within 14 days.

“This is funding that California parents count on to get the safe and reliable child care they need so that they can go to work and provide for their families,” he said.

The judge’s order also blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its demands that states turn over years of program records and personally identifiable information tied to the frozen funding streams, the Attorney General’s Office said.

“The federal government needs to unfreeze these funds immediately so our state programs can continue the critical work of caring for our kids, supporting our families and helping the most vulnerable,” Bonta said.

In a statement following the ruling, Bonta called the order “an important victory for the millions of hardworking California families who benefit from these programs,” while saying the state would continue fighting to permanently block the funding freeze.

This is the 53rd lawsuit California has filed against the Trump administration since Trump retook the White House a year ago.

This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 7:22 PM.