Trump policy

New federal rules contained in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will impose tighter caps on how much money states can raise for their Medicaid programs through provider taxes.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it planned to freeze $1 billion for child care and other family assistance programs in Illinois, citing fraud concerns. A judge last week granted a temporary restraining order preventing the freeze, at least for now.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul and attorneys general from California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York are suing the Trump administration for freezing $10 billion to their states for child care and family services programs.

The pause in funding comes about a week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was freezing child care funds in Minnesota, and asking for an audit of day care centers amid allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents.

Chicago-based nonprofit ACT Now, which distributes these federal funds to the two East St. Louis schools and others across the state, filed its suit against the department and Secretary Linda McMahon in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The U.S. Department of Education has canceled an estimated $168 million of ongoing, multi-year funding for community schools, saying the grants “did not align with the Administration’s priorities.”

The Department of Homeland Security posted a memo last week stating that it was pausing immigration applications and asylum decisions for any immigrants coming from 19 countries.

Community members gathered Monday at a town hall to learn ways to protect themselves against a potential influx of ICE agents and National Guard members in St. Louis.

This is at least the 15th ICE detainee death nationwide and the second in Missouri this year, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's website.

Autistic St. Louisans and parents of autistic children said President Trump harmed efforts to remove the stigma attached to the disorder.