Vance holds first meeting of a new anti-fraud task force targeting benefit programs

Vance holds first meeting of a new anti-fraud task force targeting benefit programs 1 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance announces Wednesday that the Trump administration will “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. 2 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, speaks during the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 3 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, arrives for the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 4 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, speaks during the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 5 of 6 | From left, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Department of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Vice President JD Vance and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller attend the first meeting of the newly formed national Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 6 of 6 | Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Education Secretary Linda McMahon talk during the first meeting of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 1 of 6 Vice President JD Vance announces Wednesday that the Trump administration will “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 6 Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, speaks during the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 6 Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, arrives for the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 6 Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, speaks during the task force’s first meeting in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 6 From left, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Department of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Vice President JD Vance and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller attend the first meeting of the newly formed national Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 6 Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Education Secretary Linda McMahon talk during the first meeting of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs.Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government for decades had not taken the issue of fraud seriously and that it needed to be tackled with “a whole-government approach.”“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.”President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on fraud part of his chief domestic focus as voters have said they’re concerned about affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests. Vance cited some of the Minnesota allegations on Friday. Last month, he held a news conference to announce a temporary halt of some Medicaid funding until the state took actions that federal officials said would address their concerns. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who faced Vance as a vice presidential candidate in 2024, has called it a “campaign of retribution” and said the Trump administration was “weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota.” The task force is also the most visible assignment to date that Trump has given to Vance, who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.Vance and the task force, which includes about half the president’s Cabinet, the leader of a new Justice Department division focused on prosecuting fraud and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, are set to meet regularly to look at rooting out potential fraud and waste in federal benefit programs. Ferguson, who is vice chair of the task force, cast the issue of fraud as a dire crisis facing the country and said it “shreds the social trust on which these programs and our entire nation depend.”“This fraud crisis is thus existential,” he said. “If we fail to address it, the fabric of our nation will swiftly unravel.”Joining the task force was Colin McDonald, a top aide to the Justice Department’s second in command. He was recently confirmed as the assistant attorney general overseeing the new division at the department focused on prosecuting fraud.The Justice Department has long prosecuted fraud nationally through its Criminal Division, but the Trump administration says the new division is needed to crack down on rampant fraud. Price covers the White House. She previously covered the 2024 presidential campaign and politics, government and other news in New York, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. She is based in Washington.