RFK Jr. Freezes $1 Billion, DOJ Investigates Harvard | 7/22/26 FIRST LOOK

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1:17Hey, everybody. I'm Dave Rubin, and this is First Look. Look, it's Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026. We've got a packed show for you today. RFK Jr. and the Trump administration yank more than a billion dollars in Medicaid funds from California and Minnesota over massive suspected fraud and call out the Democrats who opened the floodgates to theft. The Justice Department opens a probe into Harvard for allegedly taking Chinese money that discriminates against American students. Newly released body cam video shows a blue haired transgender student at the University of Central Florida melting down, screaming about misgendering and getting arrested after attacking officers.

2:02Let's dive in. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the Trump administration is stopping more than$1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud. We are not sending Medicaid dollars out the door until we have confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately," Kennedy said. If California Governor Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz want the money to fund low-income healthcare, they need to provide documentation that these payments are legitimate. Kennedy didn't mince words. He blamed the Biden administration and Democratic leadership in both deep blue states for alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars.

2:46Instead of protecting your money, they open the floodgates to theft, Kennedy said. They dismantle basic program integrity and oversight. He specifically called out former HHS Secretary Javier Becerra for looking the other way while fraud, waste, and abuse exploded. The scammers got paid, Kennedy said. The taxpayers got stuck with these enormous bills. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is deferring over$200 million for Minnesota and more than$867 million for California, while federal officers review high-risk Medicaid claims and document deficiencies. In Minnesota, the funding involves 14 high-risk areas identified as suspect because of vulnerabilities or evidence of fraudulent activity.

3:36In California, CMS officials suspect the questionable spending is rooted in in-home services. Over the past two federal fiscal years, California's spending in these programs jumped 24%, twice the national average of 12%. CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz put it plainly, so California increased spending at twice the rate of the average of the rest of the entire nation. That doesn't make sense. According to CMS, California's frozen funds include$221 million in associated claims involving individuals Oz described as having unsatisfactory immigration status. Federal officials also cited millions of dollars in claims tied to services allegedly provided to beneficiaries after they die.

4:27Oz said the agency is working with both state administrations. Minnesota has already returned documents to ensure the money is being well spent. The New York Post reached out to Newsom and Wall's offices and did not receive immediate comment. This clampdown is part of a broader Trump administration effort to go after waste, fraud, and abuse. Kennedy noted the administration has expanded beyond traditional financial verification. CMS is now using AI, advanced analytics, and other cutting-edge tools to identify suspicious spending. Just a month ago, acting attorney general Todd Blanche announced that 455 people were charged in connection with$6.5 billion in healthcare fraud schemes, described as the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.

5:22Those individuals used taxpayer-funded programs to bankroll luxury lifestyles. The funds will stay deferred until California and Minnesota can substantiate their claims from the previous quarter of audits. This is a developing story, but the message from the Trump administration is clear. The free ride for blue state fraud is over. The Justice Department is reviewing whether Harvard University accepted foreign donations that improperly favored students from China and other countries over American students. The department said Monday that Harvard's foreign funding disclosures raised concerns that some donors imposed nationality-based restrictions on financial aid.

6:04Officials are examining whether those arrangements violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars federally funded institutions from discriminating based on national origin. Every American student should have an equal opportunity to compete for college scholarships, grants, and other kinds of financial aid and benefits, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. Schools cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens. Doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it.

6:46The DOJ said some China-based donors directed Harvard to use their money for aid programs benefiting students from particular countries. Complying with those restrictions could disadvantage students of other nationalities, including Americans. Officials stress that the review remains ongoing and that no final conclusions have been reached. The department has not identified the specific scholarships or donors under examination. Harvard denied any violation. Harvard follows the law for required reporting of donations and consistent with our legal obligations under Title VI does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid, the university said.

7:35Federal law requires colleges and universities to report foreign gifts and contracts worth at least$250 ,000. A Civil Rights Division audit of those disclosures found that Harvard had reported nearly$4.5 billion in foreign funding, more than any other American university, including over$630 million from China, its largest foreign source. Harvard provides need-based institutional aid to international students, while federal grants are generally limited to eligible U.S. students. The university also uses private scholarship and employment funds to support students from outside the country. Some private gifts have been designated for students from specific nations.

8:24In 2014, Soho China co-founders Pan Xiyi and Zhang Xin donated$15 million to support Chinese students at Harvard. The DOJ has not said whether that gift is part of its review. This inquiry adds another front to the Trump administration's broader conflict with Harvard. Federal officials have also scrutinized the university over alleged anti-Semitism, admissions practices, and its treatment of foreign students. A federal judge previously blocked the administration from cutting billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard as related litigation continues. The message is straightforward. forward, American universities that take American tax dollars cannot turn around and discriminate against American students in favor of foreign donors.

9:19Newly released body cam video shows a blue haired transgender student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando being arrested after a full blown meltdown over so called misgendering. The footage released this week captures the February 2025 incident involving 27-year-old Jarrett Vick, a UCF Police Department spokesperson, said officers responded to reports that Vick was involved in a verbal altercation with several juveniles and became combative with officers upon their arrival. Vick had taken offense to being referred to as a he rather than a she. In the video, Vic is wearing a Star Wars shirt with images of storm troopers and pink shoes with longish blue and black hair.

10:07From the outset of the interaction, Vic is combative, jumping up and down and screaming in a shrill, unhinged manner. Stop misgendering me, Vic screamed after the officer used the biologically accurate pronoun. Why do you let these kids get away with this? Vic demanded as a security guard stood by making a call on a cell phone. The body cam footage runs more than seven minutes and shows the situation escalating. The officer explains he would put handcuffs on Vic if the behavior did not moderate. Eventually, the officer calls for backup and pulls out a can of pepper spray as Vic screams, F you!

10:46F you, cop! While a bystander tries to calm the situation. Another officer arrives. The first officer orders Vic to get on the ground. When Vic refuses to comply, the officers turn Vic around and deploy their tasers after a struggle. After the arrest, Vic was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting an officer with violence. According to the school, Vic dropped out and did not graduate from UCF. This is what happens when ideology collides with reality on campus. A 27-year-old student throws a public tantrum over pronouns, assaults officers, and ends up in handcuffs, while the rest of the country is expected to pretend this is normal.

11:32The video speaks for itself. And that's your first look this Wednesday. Quick recap. RFK Jr. and the Trump team are cutting off more than a billion dollars in Medicaid cash to California and Minnesota until the fraud is cleaned up. The DOJ is investigating Harvard for taking Chinese money that appears to discriminate against American students. And body cam footage shows exactly what happens when a blue haired activist decides pronouns matter more than obeying lawful orders from police. We'll keep following all of it. I'm Dave Rubin. Thanks for starting your day with First Look. See you tomorrow.