California’s $1.3B Medicaid funding put on hold by Trump administration

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Developing tonight, we are hearing from the state's top law enforcement officer on the decision from the White House to withhold $1.3 billion in Medicaid funds from California, citing fraud concerns.

[00:00:11]As we reported yesterday, Vice President J.D. Vance and Medicare officials flagged what they called questionable spending in California, including $200 allegedly covering undocumented immigrants. California's Democratic leaders firing back tonight saying that the withholding targets programs that save taxpayer money and help seniors stay out of nursing homes.

[00:00:33]with the statements made by Vice President Vance.

[00:00:37]Uh unfortunately, they I I thought they were just political and performative and not really about tackling fraud.

[00:00:45]Um we do have a a real partnership with the federal government that's been in place since before J.D. Vance was ever a senator or the vice president, where we've been tackling fraud.

[00:00:56]Trump administration says all 50 states could face Medicaid fund freezes if fraud isn't tackled. A.G. Bonta also announcing a massive fentanyl bust in Southern California. Says it involves enough deadly drugs seized potentially kill millions. Investigators say they arrested a suspected dealer in Arcadia, but the drugs are believed to have originated in Mexico. Authorities seizing close to 40 lb of powdered fentanyl, cocaine, and a handgun. They say the fentanyl alone equals roughly 8 and 1/2 million potentially deadly doses worth more than $1 million on the street.

[00:01:32]New five allowed rally outside downtown L.A.'s federal building. Protesters coming in from Ventura County asking for an immediate end to the quote intimidation campaign by the federal government against anti-ICE activists.

[00:01:46]Fox 11's Christine Gonzales live in downtown L.A. with details. Christine.

[00:01:51]Yeah, they actually announced that they're going to be filing a civil rights lawsuit against the federal government focusing specially on search warrants like the ones that were served this week in which they describe as harassment and illegal. Watch.

[00:02:06]No ice, no. Well, free our families.

[00:02:09]Free them all. It was a peaceful loud rally calling for an end in their words to the federal persecution of prominent anti-ICE activists, especially one leader from the Ventura County defense group Leo Martinez. We know that if we did a fraction of the things that they do to us, we would immediately all get rallied up and thrown in federal facilities. They shared video from a federal raid Wednesday at his home, including images from the inside claiming the place was trashed by officers.

[00:02:41]Video here from last October. Federal agents ramming their SUV into Martinez's vehicle in Oxnard. He was arrested for allegedly assault but has yet to be charged according to his attorney who described the latest incident. DHS and HS I stormed and raided four different locations for four different activists.

[00:03:02]One was VC defense a member Leo Martinez who was at home sleeping.