Civil rights groups sue Trump administration over childcare funding restrictions

HHS failed to respond to Foia request following claims of fraud against Somali childcare providers and Democrats

Civil rights groups have sued the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after the agency failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the Trump administration’s restrictions on federal childcare and family assistance following claims of fraud against Somali childcare providers and Democratic state officials.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, the ACLU of Colorado, the National Women’s Law Center and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, are seeking correspondence between federal officials and far right social media influencer Nick Shirley.

Shirley’s YouTube video posted in December 2025, where he showed up to 10 childcare centers in Minnesota and demanded proof of enrollment and attempted to enroll a fake child, and then claimed, without providing any evidence, that the centers were fraudulent. It went viral on Elon Musk’s X, as Musk boosted the video.

“How do I know that [the allegations are] true?” Shirley responded when asked by CNN reporters following the video . “Well, we showed you guys what was happening, and then you guys can go ahead and make your own analysis.”

Local reporters subsequently visited the childcare centers and debunked Shirley’s claims that there were no children at the centers. State investigators visited nine of the 10 centers following the video, as one center had been closed for years, and found normal operations and children at all but one, as it had not yet opened.

The video was cited and credited by senior Trump administration officials as the basis for the restrictions and funding freezes. Minnesota Republicans worked with Shirley on the video.

In January 2026, the Trump administration froze over $10bn in federal funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York. The three programs affected include the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG), programs that millions of Americans rely on annually for childcare, food, clothing and other social services.

The states sued to block the freeze, and a court order stopping the freeze was granted by a federal judge on 9 January. In July 2026, the Trump administration moved to resolve the lawsuit after the freeze was withdrawn after being ordered by a court to produce unredacted emails from Trump administration officials regarding the freezing of funds for five states.

The states added the office of management and budget to their lawsuit over the freeze as discovery showed the agency played an important role in the freeze, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the civil rights groups are seeking a court order to require the Department of Health and Human Services to promptly process and release all non-exempt records, including communications referencing “fraud” and “Somali” and other records related to statements and actions by Trump and administration officials over proclaimed justifications for the funding restrictions.

The lawsuit alleges the funding restrictions and attempted freeze have caused panic and fear among families reliant on the programs, has resulted in delays in childcare funding. It also alleges Trump and Republicans in Congress have continued making unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in childcare funding

“This lawsuit is really about demanding transparency and accountability from this administration, and really understanding what the true justifications for these attacks,” said Linda Morris, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project,.

Morris added: “These attacks on childcare programs are fueled by racist rhetoric, including anti-Somali and anti-immigrant bias, and they’re also motivated by the administration’s desire to attack its political opponents.”

The White House and Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.