The Trump administration announced this week that it’s withholding $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota after federal officials accused the state of mismanagement by allowing fraud to occur.

Could Maine — which has come under fire from President Donald Trump and federal health officials for its Medicaid program — be next?

Lindsay Hammes, Maine Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, said in a written statement that they have had “no communication or indication” that Maine would be subject to having Medicaid funds withheld.

Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, D-1st District, said in an interview on Friday that she’s worried the Trump administration will use a federal audit and a Maine DHHS investigation into a Medicaid provider as a pretext to freeze Medicaid funding in Maine.

“I do think (the president) holds onto grudges and may want to pick another fight with Maine. We don’t know,” Pingree said. If Medicaid funding is withheld, it “would create huge uncertainty in the lives of people who are already vulnerable and struggling. That’s cruel and inhumane.”

Trump, in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, tied the Medicaid fraud to Somali Americans in Minnesota, and said, without providing evidence, that “California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse.”

The Trump administration and Maine have been at odds since the president and Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills sparred in February 2025 over the state’s transgender policy during a governors’ meeting at the White House.

Maine, like Minnesota, was also the target of enhanced enforcement by federal immigration officials this winter.

The actions by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — officially called a deferral — have the potential to disrupt Medicaid services in Minnesota, said Alice Burns of KFF, a national health policy think tank.

“It’s very difficult to manage a Medicaid program when you don’t know if you will have the money that you budgeted for,” said Burns, associate director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

Burns said the federal deferral process puts the burden of proof on the state that it made proper Medicaid payments to service providers. If the state disputes the facts the case could eventually land in court. But meanwhile the state would be missing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding.

CMS is also using a separate process to potentially claw back an additional $2 billion from Minnesota’s Medicaid program.

Burns said the avenues the Trump administration are pursuing to withhold Medicaid funding are legal, but they have traditionally not been used. Disallowance, another process, is less disruptive toward state Medicaid operations and has been the federal government’s go-to enforcement tool for decades, she said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized the Trump administration for its “unprecedented” action to freeze $259 million in Medicaid funding, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, has indicated he would fight the action in court.

In January, the U.S. Office of Inspector General released a report alleging $45 million in improper payments for autism support services in Maine’s Medicaid program.

The Mills administration responded by saying the inspector general’s report didn’t include “any findings or allegations of fraud” or accuse any providers of “intentional wrongdoing.” The report only flagged “potential documentation and compliance issues,” state officials noted.

However, earlier this month, Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, posted a video statement referring to Medicaid fraud accusations in Minnesota and said “the same thing appears to be happening in Maine.”

Maine “needs to clean up its act,” Oz said in an Instagram post in early February.

Oz sent a letter to the Mills administration requesting information about the $45 million, giving them 30 days, until March 7, to respond.

John Bott, communications director for Maine House Republicans, questioned whether the Mills administrations will be “cooperative and forthcoming” with “access to information” and “take corrective action.”

“Are Democrats going to attempt to score political points for opposing the Trump administration or will they limit further damage to a social safety net program that people depend on?” Bott said in a written statement.

In December, Maine DHHS suspended Medicaid payments to Portland nonprofit Gateway Community Services after an audit found $1.1 million in overpayments in 2021 and 2022. State officials said at the time that the suspension was due to a “credible allegation of fraud” against Gateway.

Gateway officials have denied any wrongdoing and said they are cooperating with a state investigation.