Good morning, it’s Wednesday, January 7, 2026. In today’s edition, Trump admin freezes child care money; Wyoming court strikes down abortion ban; Ohio governor candidates name running mates:
Top Stories
CHILD CARE: The Trump administration said Tuesday they have frozen $10 billion in social services grants to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York in a bid to stamp out what they call fraud in the midst of the scandal in Minnesota. The freeze includes $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and $2.4 billion in Child Care and Development Fund grants.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) told reporters yesterday her state would sue over the freezes. Officials in Colorado and Illinois told us they haven’t yet been formally notified of funding freezes. Minnesota officials say they’ve been given until Friday to share data on families receiving child care funding along with information about providers. (Pluribus News)
State-level Republicans are using the Minnesota fraud prosecutions to begin audits and investigations into programs in their own states, as we report this morning.
ABORTION: The Wyoming Supreme Court has struck down two laws barring abortion, including the country’s first ban on abortion pills. In a 4-1 ruling, justices sided with lower courts and the state’s only abortion clinic in calling the laws a violation of the state constitution. Wyoming voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2012 allowing residents to make their own health care decisions. (Associated Press)
IMMIGRATION: New Jersey’s Assembly Judiciary Committee has approved bills limiting when state, county and local law enforcement can aid federal immigration authorities. One bill would prohibit stopping someone based on actual or suspected citizenship status, and require law enforcement to report annually their interactions with ICE agents. (New Jersey Monitor)
ENERGY: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has signed an executive order creating a task force on advancing and developing nuclear energy. NextEra Energy is aiming to restart the state’s only nuclear power plant, the Duane Arnold plant near Cedar Rapids. (Des Moines Register)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: The Iowa House is preparing a “tough on crime” package of legislation that could include a three-strikes provision creating longer mandatory sentences for repeat offenders. The package is also likely to include bail reform, though no legislative language has been released. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: The Wisconsin Senate Education Committee is considering legislation to require school districts to adopt policies on name and pronoun changes. The policy would require school districts to inform parents when students want to use different pronouns or names from the ones given at birth. (Wisconsin Examiner)
BUDGETS: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will lay out his final budget proposal on Friday in the face of a projected $18 billion deficit. The Legislative Analyst’s Office says the deficit could balloon to $35 billion annually if lawmakers don’t pursue long-term solutions. (CalMatters)
We’ll be covering Newsom’s budget proposal on Friday, be sure to tune in!
In Politics & Business
OHIO: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) has tapped Senate President Rob McColley (R) as his lieutenant governor running mate. (State Affairs) Former state health director Amy Acton (D), the likely Democratic nominee for governor, has chosen former state party chairman David Pepper (D) as her running mate. (Columbus Dispatch)
COLORADO: State Sen. Mark Baisley (R) has dropped his bid for governor and will instead run against U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D). Former U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez, another gubernatorial candidate, has left the Republican Party and will run as an unaffiliated candidate. (Colorado Sun)
NEW MEXICO: Former Public Regulation Commissioner Jim Ellison (R) has launched a campaign for governor, promising to lower energy costs. He will face at least three other Republicans — Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull (R), state Sen. Steve Lanier (R) and cannabis businessman Duke Rodriguez — who have announced their gubernatorial bids. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
CONNECTICUT: Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart (R) is the first gubernatorial candidate to seek a convention campaign grant. The initial convention campaign grant was set at $806,875 in 2023, to be adjusted for inflation beginning this year. (CT Insider)
CRIME BLOTTER: Former Arizona Rep. Austin Smith (R) has been placed on probation for two years and agreed not to seek public office for five years after pleading guilty to forging signatures on his nominating petitions in 2024. The Attorney General’s office said Smith forged at least eight signatures before withdrawing his candidacy. (State Affairs)
By The Numbers
$30 million: The amount Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has on hand for his re-election campaign this year, a state record. Shapiro held the previous record of $13.4 million heading into his 2022 election campaign. (Associated Press)
28%: The decline in shooting victims in New Jersey in 2025, compared with 2024. Last year marks the fourth consecutive year of declines in gun violence injuries in the Garden State. (NJ Advance Media)
4,191.6 feet: The elevation of the south end of the Great Salt Lake, just three feet higher than a record low set four years ago. Low snowpack throughout most of Utah has ecologists worried about the lake falling below the previous record. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Off The Wall
Massachusetts Rep. Homar Gomez (D) and Sen. Jo Comerford (D) have introduced bills to name “Hadley grass,” also known as asparagus, the official state vegetable. Hadley, a town in Hampshire County, was once known as the asparagus capital of the world. (State Affairs)
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he is taking a break from social media. Ramaswamy said he deleted X and Instagram from his phone. He said browsing social media can create a feedback loop that distorts impressions about how actual voters feel. (Columbus Dispatch)
Not a bad New Year’s resolution, if you ask us.
Quote of the Day
“Just like Hollywood, American politics can make you a prince one day and a pauper the next, and I’m afraid that’s what transpired with Gov. Walz.”
— Former U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (D) decision not to run for re-election. (MPR News)