President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 6 the start of a fraud investigation targeting California.

The president said on social media that the Golden State could have more fraud than Minnesota, which has been under the microscope regarding possible entitlement fraud.

Trump did not offer specifics about who is investigating the state or what the probe will be looking into.

“California ... is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Newsom’s press office responded on social media shortly after Trump’s announcement, criticizing the president and saying the governor has been “cleaning house.” Newsom’s office pointed to the arrests of criminals “leaching off of taxpayers,” and a halt to $125 billion in fraud.

In a later post to X, the office stated: “If Trump is serious about fraud, great—he’s got a partner in California in wanting to tackle it.”

The same day the investigation was announced, the press office highlighted a news story asserting that Texas faces $182 million loss amid CDL license audit failures.

“Fraud, waste, and abuse in Texas! Not good!” the office wrote in all caps in an X post.

The federal government moved to freeze child care funding for all 50 states following the fraud allegations and convictions in Minnesota.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families was halting all federal subsidies pending further oversight by the department.

Last month, a federal prosecutor suggested that more than half of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds supporting 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen.

A majority of the programs named as defendants were involved in child nutrition, housing, and autism services run by Somali Americans.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ended his bid for a third term in office in the aftermath of the controversy.

The Trump administration also announced on Jan. 6 that it is freezing $10 billion in child care funding for five states, including Minnesota and California.

“For too long, Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for HHS, told The Epoch Times via email.

“Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”

Amid scrutiny of Minnesota, Texas became the first state to order an internal fraud investigation into child care services.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed agencies within Texas to probe social services for potential fraud.

“Such fraud will never be tolerated in Texas,” Abbott said in a statement.

“Today, I directed Texas state agencies to take proactive steps to prevent, detect, and eliminate misuse of taxpayer funds to protect the integrity of Texas’s Child Care Services Program.”

California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a tense relationship with the president over the National Guard presence in the state and vaccine schedules.

California has sued the Trump administration over its National Guard deployment, among other issues.

More recently, Newsom’s office issued a statement pushing back against the Trump administration’s change in vaccine schedule recommendation, calling it a “reckless move” by the administration.

The White House responded to The Epoch Times’ request for more information about the investigation, saying, “Stay tuned.”

Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.