Vice President JD Vance on Friday warned that large-scale fraud targeting federal programs is far more pervasive than previously understood, as he convened the first meeting of a new White House task force aimed at rooting out abuse across multiple states and agencies.
Speaking at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Vance pointed to a major fraud case in Minnesota as evidence of a broader national problem, suggesting that similar schemes may be draining billions of taxpayer dollars from federally funded programs nationwide.
“What we’re seeing in Minneapolis, it is replayed again and again and again across many different states and across many different programs,” Vance said. “It has to stop. The president of the United States has ordered us to stop it, and that’s what this task force is going to do.”
The newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, announced by President Donald Trump during his State of the Union address, is tasked with developing a coordinated federal strategy to identify and prevent misuse of government funds. The initiative marks a central component of the administration’s domestic agenda, particularly as concerns over federal spending and program integrity intensify ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Vance described the effort as a “whole-government approach,” bringing together senior officials from across federal agencies to detect, prevent, and prosecute fraud involving programs that provide food assistance, housing support, medical care, and other public benefits.
“This is not just the theft of the American people’s money,” Vance said. “It is also the theft of critical services that the American people rely on.”
The task force includes high-ranking administration officials such as Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, and Justice Department officials overseeing a newly created division focused specifically on fraud prosecutions.
According to administration officials, each federal agency will be responsible for auditing its own programs and implementing stricter safeguards, including identity verification requirements, enhanced oversight mechanisms, and targeted investigations into suspicious activity.
The initiative follows revelations of widespread fraud in Minnesota, where prosecutors estimate that as much as $9 billion in federal funds may have been improperly obtained from state-administered social service programs since 2018. More than 100 individuals have been charged in connection with the schemes, and dozens have already been convicted.
Vance cited those findings as a warning that existing safeguards have failed to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated fraud operations. “We’ve got allies across every major significant department,” he said. “And we are going to stop the fraud that’s being committed against the American people.”
The Justice Department has also expanded its efforts, establishing a dedicated division to prosecute fraud cases more aggressively. While federal prosecutors have historically pursued fraud through existing criminal channels, administration officials argue the scale of the problem now requires a more specialized and coordinated response.
Ferguson described the issue in stark terms, calling it a threat to the integrity of federal programs and public trust. “This fraud crisis is thus existential,” Ferguson said. “If we fail to address it, the fabric of our nation will swiftly unravel.”
The issue has also intersected with broader policy debates, including immigration enforcement and federal oversight of state-run programs. Some Minnesota cases involved nonprofit organizations and individuals accused of exploiting pandemic-era relief programs, raising questions about program design, accountability, and enforcement priorities across administrations.
Vance’s leadership of the task force represents one of his most prominent roles since taking office and is likely to elevate his profile as a key figure in the administration’s domestic policy agenda. The vice president, widely viewed as a potential future presidential contender, is expected to oversee ongoing coordination between agencies and report progress on the initiative.
Vance framed the fraud in urgent terms, arguing that unchecked fraud not only wastes taxpayer money but also undermines the effectiveness of critical programs. “It’s happening across the country,” he said. “And we’re going to stop it.”