Former first lady, Jill Biden, went to Minnesota in 2022 to highlight the billions of dollars in investments for childcare that were part of Democrats' American Rescue Plan Act, where she stood next to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and praised him for his leadership helping families. 

"We helped states like Minnesota safely keep open child care centers and family child care providers and boost pay for their workers," Biden said during a February 2022 visit to the 
University of Minnesota's Child Development Laboratory School, alongside Walz and then-Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. "We supported high quality providers that enrich children's lives and we helped make them more affordable."

The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-era relief package, allocated nearly $40 billion for childcare after it was passed without any Republican support. Meanwhile, roughly 4 years after the first lady went to Minnesota to tout the Democrat-led investments in childcare, Walz and his state are facing immense blowback for allegedly failing to adequately monitor fraud within the state's Medicaid program and its childcare sector. According to a local Fox affiliate, daycares in Minnesota received roughly $500 million in federal funds in 2021. 

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"Tim, you understand that childcare is not only critical to families, it's critical to businesses and our economy," the first lady said as she turned to Walz standing behind her as she addressed people at the school who were there to attend a listening session with a number of relevant lawmakers. "And Joe and I are so grateful for your leadership and for the friendship that you and Gewn– that we've had for so many years. And I'm excited to hear more today about what you've done here in Minnesota to help families recover from the uncertainties and the losses from the pandemic."

Earlier this week, a major state audit in Minnesota conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program, reaffirming concerns about massive fraud issues in the state.

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The report, released on Monday, found that between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2024, DHS dished out more than $425 million in grants to 830 organizations, the majority being nongovernmental, and did not show proper oversight in watching over those taxpayer funds, which in many cases were meant to help those with addiction and mental health issues. The audit found missing progress reports and discovered BHA could not show it had completed all required monitoring visits and had no documentation at all for some of them. 

The audit also found that when employees were surveyed, 73% of them said they did not receive the necessary training to properly administer manage grants, with one employee saying, "Executive leadership has repetitively shown staff that they won’t take the staff’s concerns or questions seriously until something serious happens or it makes the news."

The scathing report comes as Minnesota's government agencies and leaders face immense scrutiny amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total as much as $9 billion and has already forced Gov. Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid. 

Some reports have indicated a handful of Minnesota's Democrat leaders allegedly took donations from some of those accused of committing fraud in Minnesota, while others have suggested Walz retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to sound the alarm about the fraud.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Jill and Joe Biden, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom used his final State of the State address Thursday to spotlight the state’s court fights with the federal government, saying the state has filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration.

The Democrat framed the legal battles as a dispute over presidential authority, telling lawmakers and attendees that "no one, particularly the president of the United States, stands above the law."

"We’ve gone to court and, of course, protect our people, pushing back against this executive overreach," Newsom said.

The governor pointed to litigation filed during a special session and tied the legal efforts to what he described as federal actions that harmed Californians.

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"Fifty-two lawsuits have been filed, funded by you, by the way, in this special session that all of you led," Newsom said, adding that the cases involved "about $168 billion in illegally frozen federal resources that belong to our schools, that belong to our hospitals, that belong to our seniors."

Newsom said the court strategy has already produced results.

"We have won the request for emergency relief," he said, adding that California has "affirmed the Constitution of the United States as the supreme law of the land."

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Addressing President Donald Trump, Newsom said, "You can’t cut off critical food assistance for millions of people," adding, "You can’t send the military into American cities without justification, and you cannot cruelly and illegally cut off funding for medical research, homeland security, or disaster response."

Newsom's emphasis on legal challenges comes as the Trump administration has launched a federal probe into alleged fraud tied to California programs, including homelessness spending, with a top federal prosecutor publicly criticizing the state’s oversight. 

Newsom’s office has rejected those accusations, saying the governor has blocked fraud and protected taxpayers. Later in the address, Newsom turned to homelessness and urged counties to take a more aggressive approach.

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"So I say this with love and respect to the counties — no more excuses. It’s time to bring people off the streets and out of encampments," he said.

Newsom defended California’s high-speed rail project as well, calling it "the nation’s first high speed rail system."

"Full environmental clearance is done," Newsom said, while claiming "more than 60 miles of guideway have been completed ready for immediate track lane in the Central Valley."

On housing, Newsom criticized large investors, warning about "institutional investors that are snatching up homes by the hundreds and thousands at a time."

"These investors are crushing the dream of homeownership," he said, adding, "I think it’s shameful that we allow private equity firms… become some of the biggest landlords here in our cities."

Republican leaders responded critically to Newsom’s remarks.

California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones called the address an "airbrushed spin job," accusing the governor of "working hard to pull the wool over the eyes of the nation."

Assemblyman James Gallagher likewise dismissed the speech as "more of the same," arguing it was time for what he described as a "third wave politics" of both parties working together to solve California’s problems.

The statewide election to replace term-limited Gov. Newsom is scheduled for November 2026.

Newsom’s office did not provide additional comment beyond clarifying the lawsuit figure to Fox News Digital regarding Thursday's State of the State address. 

Fox News Digital's Madison Colombo contributed to this story.