Minnesota budget officials warn proposed federal Medicaid and SNAP cuts could create multi‑billion shortfall

Minnesota budget officials and a National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) representative told a legislative committee on March 20, 2025, that pending federal budget reconciliation proposals and recent White House administrative guidance have created significant uncertainty for the state’s finances and could force Minnesota to cover billions in lost federal support.

At a joint briefing, Brian Wonko, senior legislative director for budgets and revenue at NCSL, said Congress and the White House are pursuing “the federal budget reconciliation process, funding freezes by executive orders, tax reform, and debt limit all happening at the same time.” He cautioned that the mix of actions and litigation is producing fast‑moving changes states must monitor.

The message mattered because federal funding is a large part of Minnesota’s budget. Anna Mingi, state budget director and assistant commissioner at Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), told the committee “the state agencies are managing almost 700 distinct federal grants … that total over $23,000,000,000,” and that federal sources account for roughly 35% of the state’s biennial budget. She and Dave Greenman, chief financial officer at the Department of Human Services (DHS), said Medicaid and a handful of large programs — transportation, SNAP, child care and special education — represent the biggest exposures.

Why it matters: Medicaid alone covers roughly 1.2 million Minnesotans in an average month and accounts for about $20 billion in annual payments to…