On March 2, 2026, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Minnesota Department of Human Services filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for illegally attempting to withhold $243 million in Medicaid payments from the state of Minnesota.   

On Jan. 6, 2026, the Trump administration announced that more than $2 billion annually would be withheld from Minnesota’s Medicaid funding based on vague assertions of Minnesota’s “noncompliance” with Medicaid regulations. Medicaid, known as Medical Assistance in Minnesota, provides health insurance for more than one million Minnesotans who would not otherwise be able to afford it. Despite formal requests, Minnesota has not yet been notified how it is noncompliant or what changes the Trump administration would require before resuming payment. Minnesota appealed the noncompliance notice, which started an administrative proceeding process that must be completed before the announced $2 billion cut can lawfully be made. On January 20, 2026, CMS promised it would provide certain documents necessary for the proceeding within 45 days, yet at the end of February, CMS requested a 45-day extension to provide those documents to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. According to CMS, they have been unable to obtain the documents from senior agency leadership. As such, no hearing has yet been scheduled on the noncompliance notice.  

Despite these ongoing proceedings, the Trump administration abruptly announced on February 25, 2026, that CMS would be withholding $259 million in Medicaid payments owed to Minnesota. Of that $259 million being withheld, approximately $243 million targets the same Medicaid service areas for which the Trump Administration announced it was withholding on January 6. Minnesota has had no opportunity to challenge any finding of noncompliance through existing administrative processes.  

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison and MDHS argue that the threatened cut violates the right to due process contained in the Fifth Amendment, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act’s prohibition against arbitrary and capricious actions by federal agencies and the Constitution’s spending clause.  Attorney General Ellison and MDHS are seeking a temporary restraining order to block the withholding of funding.  

The Trump Administration’s M.O. is to cut first, no matter what the law says or who gets hurt, and ask questions later, if at all. These cuts are the latest in a long series of efforts to go around the law to punish Minnesotans — but just as we fought back and won when they illegally tried to cut funding for childcare, hungry families, and our schools, we are suing them again today to make them follow the law. My office has a strong track record of success in fighting Medicaid fraud: we’ve won more than 300 convictions and $80 million in judgments and restitution since I’ve served as Attorney General, and I’ve asked the Legislature for more tools and more resources to hold more fraudsters accountable. Fighting fraud should be bipartisan but the Trump Administration not only hasn’t helped the fight against fraud, they’ve actually harmed it. Trump’s attempts to look like he’s fighting fraud only punish the people and families who most need the high-quality, affordable healthcare that all Minnesotans deserve. As long as I am attorney general, I will do everything in my power to defend our tax dollars, both from fraudsters and from the Trump administration’s cruelty.Attorney General Keith Ellison